UK housing market ‘starts new year with a bang’, says Rightmove
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Number of homes new to market 11% higher than a year ago, despite uncertainty over interest rates and stamp duty. A record number of new sellers have come on to the UK housing market since Boxing Day, while the average price and the number of sales agreed also increased, pointing to a busier 2025, according to a report.
The average price of a property coming to market rose by 1.7%, or £5,992, this month to £366,189, the biggest jump in prices at the start of the year since 2020, the property website Rightmove said in its monthly report. While prices usually bounce back in the new year after a seasonal fall in December, before Christmas, the rise was pronounced this month.
Buyers are understood to be more comfortable bidding for homes in response to falling interest rates, which could fall more steeply this year after official figures showed inflation fell in November by more than expected to 2.5%. Values were still almost £9,000 below May 2024’s all-time record, though, reflecting affordability constraints among some buyers.
The number of new properties coming to market was 11% higher than a year earlier while the number of buyers contacting agents about properties for sale since Boxing Day is 9% ahead of last year, and the number of sales being agreed over the same period is up by 11%.
The average number of homes listed for sale for every estate agency branch is at the highest for this time of year in 10 years, and sellers are competing to attract new year buyers. Some sellers may find that they have been too optimistic on their initial pricing and get left on the shelf, Rightmove said.
