Biggest new year house price bounce since 2020 recorded by Rightmove
Share:
The average price tag on a home has recorded its biggest new year bounce since 2020, according to a property website. Across Britain, the average asking price for a home coming to market increased by 1.7% or £5,992 in January, Rightmove said. This took the average asking price to £366,189, although this is still £8,942 below a record set in May 2024, reflecting affordability constraints, the website added.
The number of new properties coming to market, the volume of buyers contacting estate agents and the number of sales being agreed is ahead of the start-of-the-year period last year, the report said. But uncertainties remain, including the pace and number of interest rate drops, “sticky” mortgage rates, and the impact of stamp duty changes from April, Rightmove said.
Rightmove anticipates the smaller-homes, typical first-time-buyer sector will be particularly affected. From April 1 2025, the “nil rate” stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers will reduce from £425,000 to £300,000. Stamp duty applies in England and Northern Ireland.
Rightmove predicted that first-time buyers in less expensive parts of England will largely be unaffected by the stamp duty change, but it said the £300,000 threshold from April will act as a drag on the important bottom-of-the-ladder market in some more expensive areas to buy.
