Two and three-bedroom homes continue to outperform the sales market, while discretionary buyers are become more cautious, research suggests.
The latest market update from Connells claims that the mainstream housing market is still moving, even though homes take slightly longer to secure an offer than they did a year ago.
Across Great Britain, 52% of homes listed in January 2026 received an offer within six months of coming onto the market, compared with 58% at the same point last year, Connells said.
The share securing an offer within the first month also eased, from 42% in January 2025 to 38% this year.
POLARISED MARKET
But beneath the headline slowdown, Connells says the market is becoming increasingly polarised.
Activity is holding up best where homes remain more affordable and moves are more often driven by life-stage changes, while larger and higher-value homes are taking longer to attract offers, the agent says.
Two and three-bedroom homes remain the market’s sweet spot, with 55% and 53% respectively securing an offer within six months.
Premium five-bedroom homes have seen a sharper slowdown, with the share receiving an offer within six months falling from 59% in 2025 to 41% this year.
FASTEST MOVING REGIONAL HOUSING MARKETS
Scotland remains Britain’s fastest-moving housing market, with 68% of homes launched in January securing an offer within six months.
Meanwhile, the East of England and Wales have both bucked the wider trend, with the share of homes receiving an offer rising from 48% in 2025 to 56% in 2026 in the East of England and from 50% to 52% in Wales.
Elsewhere, some markets have seen demand soften more visibly, particularly where affordability pressures are most acute.
Almost half of homes coming onto the market in the South East (47%) and South West (44%) received an offer within the first six months, representing percentage point falls of 10% and 11% respectively compared to last year.
IMPORTANCE OF PRICING
The data also suggests that pricing strategy is becoming increasingly important in a market where buyers have more choice.
So far this year, homes that have been reduced are still 27% less likely to receive an offer than homes that have not been reduced, suggesting that many cuts are coming from a starting point that was too high.
Reductions are also proving slightly less effective than a year ago, with 38% leading to a subsequent offer this year, compared with 41% in 2025.
Even when a price cut does lead to an offer, it still takes time to translate into buyer commitment. In June, the first offer following a reduction came, on average, 49 days later, only slightly faster than the 53 days recorded last year.
BUYER’S MARKET
Aneisha Beveridge, research director at Connells Group, says: “The housing market is still moving, but buyers have become more selective about where they spend their money.
“The strongest demand continues to be concentrated in the middle market, particularly among two and three-bedroom homes which appeal to first-time buyers, growing families and households whose moves are often driven by changing circumstances rather than choice alone.
“In contrast, higher-value homes face a tougher environment. Mortgage costs remain significantly higher than they were a few years ago, and that impact is felt most in more expensive parts of the country where buyers typically need to borrow more. Combined with wider political and economic uncertainty, this is causing some households to take a more cautious approach.”
