2026 Property Market. Week 5. Momentum with consequences.

If Week 4 told us the market was in motion, Week 5 confirms it is sustaining pace.

A further 36,992 homes came onto the market last week, again comfortably ahead of the long run Week 5 average. Year to date, 170,131 properties have been listed, well above the ten year norm. Choice continues to build, and with 663,304 homes currently for sale across the UK, buyers have options.

But here is the important point. Demand is keeping up.

25,411 homes sold subject to contract last week, ahead of the decade average for Week 5. Year to date, 114,207 homes have gone under offer, running 19.1% ahead of 2024. Even when you smooth the numbers, sales agreed are 14.8% higher than the same point last year. This is not a weak market being propped up by supply. Buyers are active, but they are selective.

That selectivity shows up clearly in pricing.

12.2% of homes on the market reduced their asking price in the last month. Yet only 13.6% of listings agreed a sale during that same period, slightly below the 2025 average. Also, just over half, 53%, of homes that left estate agents books in January actually sold and completed. The rest withdrew unsold, meaning realistic price remains key.

Average sale prices on agreed homes sit at £356,000, with an average of £352 per square foot. The Bank of England base rate remains at 3.75%, and the average time to secure a buyer is 77 days, with a further 118 days on average from sale agreed to completion. This is a functioning market, but it is not impulsive.

For homeowners, the opportunity is clear. There is real liquidity in the system. Buyers are committing in meaningful numbers. However, they are making rational decisions, not emotional ones. When over 36,000 new competitors join the market in a single week, strategy matters.

The verdict for Week 5 is simple. Volume is strong. Demand is present. But pricing discipline remains the dividing line between moving forward and standing still. In 2026, the market is rewarding realism and quietly penalising wishful thinking.