Average Price
The average price of homes newly listed on the market for sale rises this month by 2.8% (+£9,893) to £368,031. This is the largest increase in the month of January in Rightmove’s 25 years of House Price Index reporting. It is also the largest month-on-month price increase of any month since June 2015. January’s recovery brings average asking prices close to where they were in August 2025.
A recovery in property prices is a good sign for the health of the market at the start of the year, though sellers mustn’t get carried away with new year enthusiasm. They are advised to strike a balance between price ambition and market realism when setting their asking price to give themselves the best chance of finding a buyer and getting their home sold.
Supply & Demand
In the two weeks after Christmas Day, buyer demand, as measured by the number of people contacting agents to enquire about homes for sale, rose by 57%, and the number of homes newly listed for sale rose by 81% compared with the two weeks before Christmas Day.
The number of available homes on the market, and therefore the number of other sellers to compete with, is still at its highest level for this time of year since 2014.
Interest Rates
While mortgage rates didn’t fall as far or fast as some anticipated at the start of 2025, we saw slow and steady interest rate drops and a much more consistent and stable mortgage market last year. Some headlinegrabbing rate cuts from many major lenders at the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026 mean that the average two-year fixed mortgage rate is at its lowest since before the disruptive mini-Budget in September 2022.
The average two-year fixed mortgage rate is now 4.29%, compared with 5.03% at this time last year. This drop in the average mortgage rate means that someone purchasing a home at the national average asking price and with a 20% deposit would save over £100 a month on their mortgage compared to last year.
The current base rate set by the Bank of England stands at 3.75%, with the next meeting due on the 19th of March.
Regional Trends: North East
The average price for homes in the North East is £197,264 with a 7.0% month-on-month increase and a 3.4% increase since the same period last year. On average, it takes 64 days to sell a property in the North East region.
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Source: Rightmove
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