The supply of homes for sale across the UK has reached its highest level in eight years, according to new figures from property portal Zoopla, as more sellers return to the market following a difficult and uncertain 2025.
Data from Zoopla shows that estate agents listed an average of 32 homes per branch during the first fortnight of the year. This marks a clear increase compared with the same period last year, when agents were marketing around 30 properties, and 28 homes at the start of 2024. The rise points to a noticeable improvement in housing stock as confidence slowly begins to recover.
Zoopla also found that a significant proportion of homes currently for sale had previously been listed last year. Around one third of properties available at the start of this year were first marketed in 2025, then withdrawn before being reintroduced. The portal linked this trend to uncertainty caused by last autumn’s Budget, which led many buyers and sellers to pause decisions during the final months of the year.
Despite the disruption towards the end of 2025, Zoopla says buyer activity has picked up strongly since Christmas. Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said the early weeks of the year have brought a welcome rebound in demand across all regions. He added that the growing number of homes on the market highlights a strong underlying desire among households to move, even after a challenging period.
Southern England has been the main driver behind the rise in housing stock. London recorded a 16% increase in homes for sale compared with the same period last year, while the South East saw listings rise by 9%. Zoopla noted that these areas were more heavily affected by Budget-related uncertainty, which slowed transactions towards the end of 2025 and contributed to higher levels of unsold stock.
Policy changes announced in the Autumn Budget, including the introduction of a mansion tax on properties valued above £2 million, are expected to have a greater impact in southern regions where average house prices are higher. As a result, the increased supply of homes in these areas is helping to keep price growth under control, according to Zoopla.
In contrast, housing supply in many other parts of the UK remains broadly unchanged year on year. This tighter balance between supply and demand could leave more room for price growth outside the South, particularly where buyer interest remains resilient.
While more homes are available and buyer enquiries have risen since the festive period, overall demand is still around 10% lower than at the same point in 2025. However, Zoopla noted that current demand levels remain historically strong and are around 20% higher than at the beginning of 2023.
Attention is also turning to the rental market, particularly among investors considering buy-to-let opportunities. Separate figures from Rightmove show that average rents outside London rose by 2.2% between 2024 and 2025, while rents within the capital increased by just 0.8%. These were the smallest annual rises recorded outside London since 2018, and inside London since 2020.
Rightmove expects rental growth to remain relatively modest this year, forecasting average rent increases of around 2%. Despite slower growth, there are signs of renewed confidence among landlords.
UK Finance data shows that new buy-to-let mortgage lending rose by 13% in the year to October compared with the previous year, while buy-to-let remortgaging activity increased by 23%. This suggests that improving mortgage affordability, driven by lower rates, is encouraging more investment activity.
Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark, said falling mortgage rates are helping to ease pressure on buy-to-let affordability. He added that while the rental market is becoming calmer, it remains undersupplied, highlighting the continued need for investment in the private rented sector as the market moves further into 2026.
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