The average asking price of a home in the UK rose by 2.8% in January, the largest increase for the month since 2015, according to Rightmove. The property website reported that the average price tag increased by £9,893 to £368,031, marking the biggest January jump in its 25 years of house price studies.
Rightmove said the recovery brings asking prices close to where they were in August 2025, as market sentiment rebounds from uncertainty ahead of the autumn budget. However, the website cautioned sellers against over-optimism, noting that the number of available homes on the market is at its highest level for this time of year since 2014.
Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove, said: “It’s an encouraging start to the year to see sellers confident enough to list their homes at higher prices after several months of muted price growth last year. However, sellers need to be realistic and balance the price they want to achieve with the likelihood of finding a buyer in their local market.”
Separately, a report from Hamptons found that newly agreed rents fell by 0.7% on average across Britain in 2025, the first full calendar year decline since its records began in 2011. The average tenant moving into a property paid £1,371 per month, £10 less than the previous year.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “On paper, 2025 looked like a good year for tenants. However, falling rents were driven more by strong first-time buyer numbers and wider economic weakness than by improved tenant affordability.”
