‘Strong rebound’ for UK housing market with 6% more homes for sale than a year ago

Spring has come early to the UK housing market, with a surge in people listing their homes for sale as confidence returns to the sector, a report by the property website Zoopla found.The site said this month was on course to record the highest number of newly listed homes for sale in any February for a decade.Zoopla’s data comes days after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said there were “tentative signs” that the UK housing market may be turning a corner after a “challenging” period that included the run-up to the November 2025 budget.Two of the UK’s biggest mortgage lenders recorded higher average house prices in January: the Halifax said prices were up 0.7% last month, and Nationwide said they were up 0.3%.Separately, figures issued this month by the data provider Moneyfacts found that first-time buyers had the biggest choice of low-deposit mortgages for at least 18 years.Zoopla said its data showed that the housing market had started 2026 with a “strong rebound” in activity. “This has been driven by the lowest mortgage rates in four years and improved access to mortgages, particularly for first-time buyers,” it added.The site said one clear trend was “a surge in sellers bringing homes to the market”, reflecting improved confidence and a strong desire among many households to move home.There were already 6% more homes for sale than a year ago, with this figure expected to increase in the coming months, said a spokesperson. Meanwhile, 40% of UK homes were now cheaper to buy than rent as a result of lower mortgage rates and lenders loosening their affordability rules, rising to more than half of homes in some regions, Zoopla added.While many economists have predicted that 2026 will be a year of growth in the UK’s property market, Zoopla said that as well as giving buyers more choice, the increased supply of properties was expected to “keep house price growth in check” this year.Alastair Douglas, chief executive of the consumer credit website TotallyMoney, said that while more homes on the market and falling mortgage rates were good news, “for millions of young people, the problem isn’t the rate – it’s getting a mortgage in the first place”.Saving up enough for a home deposit was a huge hurdle given high rents and other costs, he said.“Add a student loan crisis to the mix, with high interest rates and frozen repayment thresholds, and it’s clear that home ownership is becoming a luxury for those who can lean on the bank of mum and dad,” he added.