The UK housing market is set to enter 2026 with renewed momentum after months of hesitation linked to speculation over property tax changes ahead of the Autumn Budget.
Zoopla expects around 1.15 million sales next year – broadly in line with 2025 – as buyers priced between £500,000 and £2 million return to the market following a period of uncertainty.
New figures from the property portal show the market closing 2025 with 1.15 million completions, up 4.5%on the previous year.
Competitive mortgage pricing and resilient buyer demand have supported activity despite economic pressures and cost-of-living constraints.
BUYER SHIFT
Data also points to a clear shift in buyer preferences over the past 12 months. Rural homes dominated online interest, while three-bed terraced properties remained the most searched-for type.
Scotland continued to lead the UK’s fastest-moving markets, with Falkirk posting an average selling time of just 13 days.
Zoopla’s annual trends snapshot also highlights a divergence between regional affordability.
Kensington and Chelsea remains the UK’s most expensive local authority for buyers and renters, while Inverclyde and Hartlepool sit at the opposite end of the scale for house prices and rents respectively.
Nathan Emerson, Chief Executive of Propertymark, says: “While there are challenges that remain within the wider economy, it has been a year where the housing market has held its nerve and progressed forward.
“Many people are typically feeling a greater sense of confidence than only a year previous, and with inflation forecast to trend further downward over the coming months, we may see the Bank of England feel that much needed self confidence to further implement the downward journey for base rates.
“With the Autunm Budget also now behind us and with many people having a clearer picture of what the forthcoming months now looks like from a financial viewpoint; we hopefully should witness a positive start for the housing market as we head into early 2026.”
TOUGHER LANDSCAPE
And Tom Bill, Head of UK Residential Research at Knight Frank, adds: “In a year when Budget speculation kept a lid on demand for most of the final six months, steady mortgage rates underpinned housing market activity.
“We expect rates to keep drifting lower in 2026 and sub-4% mortgages will become available across a wider range of loan-to-value deals.
“The tougher financial landscape for buyers after the Budget, including the income tax threshold freeze, will increasingly keep demand in check but the biggest near-term risk is political. Budget speculation could turn into conjecture about the occupants of Downing Street and their plans for the economy in the early months of next year.”
MOST VIEWED HOME
Zoopla’s data also reveals sharp contrasts in lifestyle-led demand. The most-viewed home of 2025 was a three-bed detached property in rural Carmarthenshire, complete with solar panels and space for off-grid living.
Scotland’s luxury markets also featured prominently, including a six-bed Prestwick villa on 11 acres with an indoor leisure wing.
Search behaviour on Zoopla.co.uk shows evolving priorities among buyers.
MOST SEARCHED TERM
“Garage” overtook “freehold” as the most searched term, followed by “annexe” and “double garage”, highlighting continued appetite for flexible space and storage.
The rental market remains similarly polarised. Kensington and Chelsea commands average rents of £3,531 per month – more than double the UK average – while Hartlepool offers the lowest typical rents at £578.
At the geographical extremes, the northernmost sale of the year was recorded on Unst in the Shetland Islands, where a two-bed bungalow sold for £85,000.
The most southerly transaction was a Grade II-listed property on the Isles of Scilly, listed at £1.2 million and offering harbour views.
Zoopla expects confidence to build through early 2026 as inflation continues to ease and borrowing costs gradually fall, helping counterbalance the tighter tax environment introduced in the Budget.
