The average price of homes newly listed on the market for sale has increased by 2.8% in just one month.

Rightmove reports a rise equivalent to £9,893 on the average British homes.

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. 

After underperforming against historical averages in eight out of twelve months during 2025, national average property prices are now 0.5% higher than at this time last year. 

January’s recovery brings average asking prices close to where they were in August 2025, as market sentiment rebounds from the rumours and uncertainty around the November Budget. 

However, price trends in regions and local markets across Britain are more volatile.

While most regions rise in price this January, the East Midlands and Scotland buck the trend with price falls. 

The portal says a recovery in property prices is a good sign for the health of the market at the start of the year, it warns that sellers mustn’t get carried away.

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. 

Additionally, a third of homes already on the market are having their asking price reduced. 

Therefore, sellers need 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.

Rightmove says 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. 

This illustrates how the much-hyped Boxing Day bounce kick-started the return of home-movers to market. 

Rightmove recorded its busiest ever Boxing Day for visits to its platform. 

And over the last week, buyer demand is lower than last year, when buyer activity was boosted by some buyers trying to find a property and complete their purchase before stamp duty rose in England in April 2025. 

However, buyer demand is in line with 2024. 

The portal says it’s an encouraging early snapshot, and as the start of the year progresses it will become clearer if this momentum is maintained into the peak Spring selling season.