January saw increase in house price growth
February 6, 2026 by Brendan O'Neill
Surveys and Statistics
The first month of this year brought an improvement in year-on-year house price growth, although it has not dented activity levels among buyers.
January saw growth in house prices of 1% compared with the same month in 2025. By comparison, December brought year-on-year growth of just 0.6%. Those figures are taken from the new house price index that has just been published by Nationwide. When prices are looked at on a month-to-month basis, there was growth of 0.3% over the course of last month. That figure is a seasonally adjusted one.
Nationwide also produced a report not long ago that shows housing affordability levels have been getting better. This is due to mortgage rates steadily coming down and wage growth increasing faster than house price growth. As a result of those factors, the number of people buying for the first time has been rising during the past 12 months.
According to the Nationwide report, a first-time buyer whose earnings match the UK average and who is buying a standard property with a deposit of 20% would be devoting 32% of their salary to mortgage payments. Two years ago, this figure would have been 38%.
The chief economist for Nationwide is Robert Gardner. He told Financial Reporter that activity levels late last year had been impacted by Budget-related uncertainties. He then added:
“Housing market activity is likely to recover in the coming quarters, especially if the improving affordability trend seen last year is maintained.”
That is a situation that mortgage advisors with CeMAP training would be delighted with.
Written by
Brendan O'Neill
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