Housing market: Asking prices rise in January as Yorkshire's rents fall
Housing market projections have appeared to pick up, with the biggest January increase in a decade as buyers’ confidence grows.
The average price tag on a home jumped by 2.8 per cent or nearly £10,000 this month, according to property website Rightmove.
It comes as rental prices dipped across Yorkshire, falling 1.4 per cent, as more first-time buyers take their first steps onto the market.
January’s recovery brings prices close to where they were in August last year, as market sentiment rebounds from uncertainty ahead of the autumn budget.
But Rightmove has said sellers should not get "carried away" with new year enthusiasm, adding that the number of unsold homes on the market is also incredibly high.
Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove, said it was an "encouraging" start to the year to see sellers confident enough to list their homes at higher prices.
“Some buyers, particularly first-time buyers, won’t want to see prices rising too quickly," she added.
"However, asking prices are only back to where they were in the summer of 2025 before the budget rumours began surfacing, which unsettled the market and dented confidence."
This month's asking price increase, amounting to around £9,893 for the average home, is the biggest seen in January in Rightmove's 25 years of house price studies. It brings the average price tag on a home £368,031 across Britain.
Many mortgage lenders have cut their rates in recent weeks, in a boost to home buyers.
Matt Smith, a mortgage expert at Rightmove, said mortgage rates are “likely to be steady for the next few months, with only minor changes up or down”.
He added: “Those who have been waiting for cheaper mortgage rates before acting might currently be seeing some of the best deals that will be around for a while.”
The website has outlined challenges with the highest number of homes on the market for this time of year since 2014. It means buyers have a lot more choice, said Ms Babcock, with a third of homes already having seen a price reduction to attract attention.
She added: “A record number of visits to Rightmove on Boxing Day and a big bounce in activity following a quieter festive period have set the tone for a positive start to the year. Many buyers have seen their affordability improve with average wage rises outstripping average property prices.”
It comes as a separate report, from property firm Hamptons, finds rental prices have dipped for the first full year since 2011.
Hamptons said the average tenant moving into a property paid £1,371 per month – £10 a month less than the previous year. Nationally rents fell 0.7 per cent, but for Yorkshire and the Humber that sum was doubled - to 1.4 per cent or around £923.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research, said: “On paper, 2025 looked like a good year for tenants. Rents on new lets ended 2025 lower than they started and tenants had more choice than before.
"However, falling rents were driven more by strong first-time buyer numbers and wider economic weakness than by improved tenant affordability. Fewer tenants are taking their first step into the rental market, with many staying at home longer and being reluctant to commit to the cost of renting a place of their own.”