UK Housing Market Records Strong New Year Rebound, Asking Prices Jump

The UK housing market has kicked off the year on a strong note, with new data showing the sharpest rise in average asking prices for homes in a decade.

Figures released by property website Rightmove reveal that nearly £10,000 was added to the average asking price of a home coming onto the market within just five weeks. The average new seller asking price rose by 2.8%, or £9,893, month-on-month, to £368,031.

Rightmove attributed the surge to renewed confidence in the market following a slowdown late last year. Activity had dipped amid uncertainty over possible property tax changes in the November Budget, prompting many buyers and sellers to delay their plans. Confidence returned after the measures announced proved less severe than anticipated, alongside a Bank of England interest rate cut shortly before Christmas.

According to Rightmove, the latest increase represents the largest January rise in 25 years and the biggest monthly jump since June 2015. The analysis is based on tens of thousands of properties listed by estate agents between December 7 and January 10.

However, the upbeat data contrasts with recent reports from major mortgage lenders. Halifax and Nationwide both recorded declines in UK house prices in December, falling by 0.6% and 0.4% respectively.

Commenting on the findings, Jeremy Leaf, a north London estate agent and former residential chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), said market activity is clearly improving. He noted that while Rightmove tracks asking prices rather than completed sales, demand has been supported by easing mortgage rates and lower inflation.

Leaf added that buyers and sellers “breathed a collective sigh of relief” after the Budget, as feared property tax changes turned out to be “not as punitive as many expected.”