Rightmove is anticipating a bigger-than-usual Boxing Day bounce in terms of would-be buyers on its platform – but it predicts only modest price rises in 2026.
The portal says that many of those who paused their plans due to Budget uncertainty will join the traditional start of the busier home-moving season on December 26.
Rightmove’s survey of over 10,000 potential movers revealed that nearly one in five were waiting for the outcome of the Budget to resume their moving plans. Thie website claims this large percentage underlines the impact of the Budget hiatus, and it’s likely that many of this group will be re-engaged by the number of new listings that are being held back ready for launch on or soon after Boxing Day.
There are already some very early signs of a post-Budget market rebound in some segments and sectors of the market, though the usual festive slowdown has delayed a more widespread bounce-back.
In London, the number of new sellers coming to market at the top-end, which was hardest hit by Budget speculation, was up by 24% in the week after the Budget compared with the week before.
Rightmove predicts that the 2026 market will be more like the encouraging first half of this year, rather than the second half, where confidence was affected by Budget speculation.
Buyer affordability is set to improve, and the good choice of homes for sale continues to run at a decade-high level. For these reasons, Rightmove predicts stronger housing market activity, leading to modest upwards price pressure, and causing the average price of property coming to the market for sale to rise by 2% in 2026.
Rightmove’s data highlights the contrast between the first and second halves of 2025.
The number of new sellers coming to market in the first half of 2025 was 9% ahead of the same period in 2024. By contrast, the number of new sellers coming to market in the second half of 2025 was 4% below the same period last year.
It’s a similar story for buying activity. Buyer demand was 3% higher than 2024 across the first half of this year but turned around to be 6% behind across the second half.
The portal insists it’s still been a strong overall year for sales, with the number of sales agreed 3% higher than in 2024. It’s also important to note that the final months of this year compare to a strong period in 2024, which was fuelled by some movers trying to get deals completed before stamp duty rose in England from April. This has exacerbated the weaker year-on-year trends in the second half.
Rightmove predicts that average new seller asking prices will rise by 2% in 2026.
“Despite the quieter end to the year, we expect that 2026’s activity will be closer to the first half of this year than the second. Buyer choice remains good, while buyer affordability is set to improve” it says.
Rightmove’s mortgage tracker shows that the average two-year fixed mortgage rate is now 4.33%, an improvement compared with the average of 5.08% at this time last year. Relaxing of mortgage lending criteria, and wage growth continuing to run ahead of inflation, will also support affordability in 2026, especially when combined with the 2025 price dips.
This article is taken from Landlord Today