Six weeks into 2026, and the pattern is no longer noise.
36,495 new homes came onto the market last week, again ahead of the long run average for this time of year. Year to date listings now stand at 170,131, comfortably above historic norms. With 663,304 homes currently for sale across the UK, buyers are not short of choice.
But supply is only half the story.
26,601 homes sold subject to contract last week, another figure running ahead of the ten-year Week 6 average. Year to date, 140,808 homes are under offer/sold stc, 13.2% ahead of the same point in 2024. Demand is not evaporating. It is absorbing what is coming to market.
Yet this is not a free for all.
12.2% of homes reduced their asking price in the last month. Only 13.6% of listings agreed a sale in that same period, slightly below the 2025 average. And the longer-term truth remains uncomfortable. Of the homes that left agents’ books in January, just 53.4% went on to sell and complete. The other 46.6% withdrew, unsold.
Pricing remains the hinge.
Average agreed prices sit at £355,000, with £345 per square foot on sale agreed stock. The average rent is £1,713 per calendar month. The Bank of England base rate holds at 3.75%. It is taking 77 days on average to secure a buyer, and 118 days from sale agreed to completion.
This is a market with depth. It has activity. It has liquidity. But it also has memory. Buyers know they have options, and they are behaving accordingly.
Week 6 tells us this.
If you are priced right, you move.
If you are not, the market quietly moves on without you.