Rightmove’s February House Price Index shows average new seller asking prices were effectively unchanged at £368,019, down just £12 on the month and flat year on year. The contrast with February 2025, when the stamp duty deadline drove a surge in new listings and agreed sales, is now fully visible in the data. Without a comparable tax deadline in 2026, activity has returned to more typical seasonal levels. The full index is at House Price Index | Property blog.
Thank you for posting this, @CGT_Watcher. It is not exactly encouraging reading for someone about to go on the market. We had both agents round a couple of weeks ago and the valuations were closer together than I expected, but both mentioned that they are seeing more stock come on locally in Kent than at any point in the last year or so. One of them used the phrase “buyer’s market” which I have not heard for a while.
I suppose the silver lining is that the annual figures are still just about positive, and our property is a two bedroom terrace which tends to move reasonably quickly at the right price. But the flat month on month figure does make me wonder whether we would have been better off listing in January rather than waiting for the agents to come back with their marketing plans. We shall see.
The Nationwide February data published this morning confirms the same picture. Average price £273,176, up 0.3% on the month and 1.0% annually. For context, that annual figure was running at 4.7% as recently as mid 2024. The market is not falling but it is barely moving in real terms. Sellers pricing realistically from the outset are likely to do better than those testing the water with an optimistic asking price and then reducing. Professional advice on timing remains essential.