HOME BUYERS WILL LOOK TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MORTGAGE RATE FALLS

THE housing market is set for a strong start in 2026, according to property experts, as home buyers make the most of falls in mortgage rates and put some of last year's uncertainties behind them.

- By VICKY SHAW, PA

Experts predicted the recovery will be “bottom-up” rather than “top-down,” with some challenges at the upper end of the market and first-time buyers remaining a “driving force” on the first rung of the property ladder.

The base rate was cut from four per cent to 3.75 per cent in December, bringing an early Christmas present to some mortgage holders.

Around 1.8 million fixed-rate mortgages are due to expire in 2026, according to figures from UK Finance.

Last year’s seesaw housing market saw buyers rushing to beat a stamp duty deadline in the initial months of the year.

Around 177,370 home sales took place across the UK in March 2025 - around double (a 104 per cent increase) the number compared with the 86,810 sales recorded in March 2024 - according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures.

But in the second half of the year, some activity was put on hold as some potential buyers took a pause amid speculation over possible changes in the autumn Budget.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) previously reported that the volume of new home buyer inquiries deteriorated to the weakest level recorded in around two years in November.

Some buyers entering the market now may find they can snap up more of a bargain than a couple of months ago.

According to property website Rightmove, the average asking price for a home in Britain fell by £6,695 month-on-month in December, reaching £358,138.

Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove, said: “We predict the market will look and feel very different depending on which area of Great Britain you're in, and the type of property you're looking to sell or buy, with big differences particularly between the south of England and the rest of Great Britain.”