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Pedro Goncalves writes:
UK house prices rose by 1% in January, with the average house price standing at £270,873, according to figures from Nationwide.
The lender said annual house price growth picked up from 0.6% in December, while prices rose 0.3% month-on-month after seasonal adjustment, showing a bit of momentum at the start of the year.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “The start of 2026 saw a slight pick-up in annual house price growth, which rose to 1.0% in January, after slowing to 0.6% in December. Prices increased by 0.3% month on month in January, after taking account of seasonal effects.”
Housing market activity weakened toward the end of 2025, which Nationwide said was likely to reflect uncertainty around potential property tax changes ahead of the autumn budget. Despite this, lending activity remained resilient.
“Nevertheless, the number of mortgages approved for house purchase remained close to the levels prevailing before the pandemic,” Gardner said.