UK house prices rise £6,000 in a month in biggest new year bounce since 2020, Rightmove says
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UK HOUSE prices rose by nearly £6,000 in January, according to Rightmove. Across Britain, the typical asking price for a home coming onto the market increased by 1.7%. The average asking price of a home in the UK is now £366,189 - £5,992 more than in the previous month.
Although house prices have risen, they are still £8,942 below the record set in May 2024, which reflects affordability constraints, Rightmove said. It has forecast an average asking price increase of 4% across this year. The number of new properties put on the market, volume of buyers contacting estate agents and number of sales being agreed are ahead of the start of the year period last year, according to the report.
But there is still uncertainty, it warned. Questions remain about the pace and number of interest rate cuts, while “sticky” mortgage rates keep the cost of borrowing high. Meanwhile, it is not yet clear what the impact of stamp duty changes from April will have.
From April 1, 2025, the threshold at which first-time buyers must pay stamp duty will be reduced from £425,000 to £300,000. Stamp Duty applies in England and Northern Ireland. Rightmove suggests that smaller homes, which are typical in the first-time buyer sector, will be particularly affected.
It predicts that first-time buyers in less expensive parts of England will be mostly unaffected by the stamp duty change. But the lower threshold will act as a drag on the important bottom-of-the-ladder market in some more expensive areas. Some New Year sellers may also find they have been too optimistic about the price they put their home on the market for.
