The average asking price in January came to £366,189, which is 1.8% up year-on-year and a 1.7% rise month-on-month.
The latest Rightmove House Price Index found that the increase in the average asking price is the largest jump in prices at the start of the year since 2020.
The report stated that new seller asking prices are around £9,000 below May 2024’s record, which Rightmove said reflected “buyer affordability constraints”.
Rightmove said a record number of early-bird new sellers have entered the market since Boxing Day, meaning there is a heightened level of choice in the market, the highest since 2015, and there is a positive indication of buyer activity for the coming year.
The report found that the number of new properties coming to the market is 11% up on the same period last year and the level of buyers contacting agents since Boxing Day is 9% ahead on last year.
The number of agreed sales during the period is also 11% ahead of last year’s figures.

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Rightmove warned that there were “uncertainties ahead”, such as the pace and number of interest rate drops and the stamp duty deadline on 31 March.
Mortgage rates are also a challenge, as the average five-year fixed rate is 4.75%, which compares to 4.78% to this time last year. The average two-year fixed rate is 4.97%, which is beneath last year’s 5.08%.
Rightmove said it is forecasting around 1.15 million transactions this year and that average asking prices would rise by 4%.
Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said: “New sellers have started the year with a bang, with a record number coming to market not only on Boxing Day itself, but across the start of the year to date. We’ve also seen a strong start to the year in new seller asking prices, though given the higher-than-anticipated seller competition, we would expect this to slow down over the next few months.
“The record number of sellers we’re seeing is a double-edged sword. It’s encouraging to see so many sellers with the confidence to come to market, providing buyers with fresh choice. However, with lots of homes for buyers to consider, sellers will need to work even harder to stand out from the crowd and attract a buyer.
“This could be with a tempting asking price, standout home features, immaculate presentation of the home, or a combination of all of these. It’s vital that in a competitive market, sellers take on the recommendations of their agent, particularly when it comes to setting a realistic price.”
‘Market needs a boost’ to continue ‘momentum’
Rightmove said the national average asking price for first-time buyers came to £227,212, which is 0.95% up month-on-month and a 2.1% rise on last year.
The report stated that the number of first-time buyer enquiries in the sector is up 8%, which is the lowest of all market segments.
The company said first-time buyers in cheaper parts of England would “largely be unaffected”, but stamp duty changes could be a “drag on the important bottom-of-the-ladder market in more expensive areas”.
For second-steppers, the average asking price is estimated at £339,325, a 1% monthly change and 2.3% annual change.
At the top of the ladder, the average asking price stands at £665,288, which is 1.9% up month-on-month and annually.
Babcock said: “The market needs a boost for that momentum to be sustained, in the form of early and ongoing bank rate cuts, which should hopefully help to reduce mortgage rates. Some further support for first-time buyers would also be welcomed, particularly in more expensive areas of the country.”