Overview
- Rightmove reports average new-seller asking prices fell 1.8% in December to £358,138, leaving prices 0.6% below a year ago in a larger-than-normal seasonal dip.
- The portal characterises 2025 as a year of two halves with Budget-related uncertainty curbing second-half activity, yet sales agreed still ran about 3% higher than in 2024.
- Rightmove and estate agents flag a likely larger Boxing Day surge in listings and searches, with the site projecting a roughly 2% rise in average asking prices in 2026.
- Official ONS figures show UK annual house price growth slowed to 1.7% in October, with London values down 2.4% year on year and stronger gains recorded in northern regions.
- Access to mortgages is improving as lenders ease stress tests and rates drift into the mid-to-high 4% range, the FCA launches a consultation on more flexible mortgage rules, first-time buyers borrow at record levels, and Halifax and Nationwide forecast 1–3% and 2–4% price growth in 2026 respectively.