UK asking prices recorded their strongest January uplift on record, buoyed by easing mortgage rates and a more settled political backdrop.
New figures show the average price of a home coming to market rose by nearly £10,000 in January, marking the biggest post-Christmas increase ever recorded. According to Rightmove, the typical asking price climbed 2.8 per cent month on month to £368,031.
The £9,893 rise was the largest monthly increase since mid-2015 and represents the sharpest December-to-January jump since Rightmove began tracking prices 25 years ago. On an annual basis, national asking prices are now 0.5 per cent higher than a year ago.
Market commentators attribute the strong start to the year to falling mortgage rates and improving buyer confidence, following the easing of uncertainty surrounding Labour’s November Budget.
Meanwhile, separate research from estate agency Hamptons highlights a continued retreat by landlords, driven by higher taxes and tighter regulation. Landlords accounted for just 10.9 per cent of property purchases in 2025, down from 12 per cent in 2024 and significantly below the 15.8 per cent recorded a decade earlier, before the stamp duty surcharge on second homes was introduced.
This represents the lowest proportion since Hamptons began compiling the data in 2012 and reflects the first full year in which landlords faced the higher 5 per cent stamp duty surcharge announced in October 2024.
Further pressures lie ahead, with the Renters’ Rights Act due to take effect from May and plans for an additional two percentage point increase in income tax on property income from April 2027.
House prices surge by almost £10,000 at the start of the year
Justin Thomas
Financial Adviser
19th January 2026
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