UK House Sales. January 2026 vs January 2024. A market quietly gathering pace.

If you strip out the noise and look purely at sales agreed, January 2026 is telling a far more constructive story than many expected.

Across much of the UK, buyer activity is not just holding up, it is materially stronger than two years ago. This is not a market being dragged along by incentives or deadlines. It is a market being powered by people who have decided that moving home can no longer be put on hold.

The stand out performances are coming from the Midlands and East of England. The East Midlands is up 15.7%, with East Anglia close behind at 14.4%. These are meaningful increases, not statistical quirks, and they point to strong underlying demand in regions where affordability remains more balanced and lifestyle moves still stack up.

Scotland has also posted a solid 10% uplift, with Wales at 10.3% and the South West at 9.9%. Even regions often labelled as slower or more price sensitive, such as the North West and West Midlands, are showing growth of 4.2% and 6.8% respectively. This is breadth, not just a one speed market.

The North East and Yorkshire and the Humber continue to move forward too, up 9.1% and 7.5%, reinforcing the point that this recovery is geographically wide rather than London led.

Greater London remains the outlier, down 1.1% (although Outer London is 6.9% up, yet Inner London is down 6.6%). That should not surprise anyone. Higher prices, stretched affordability and a more complex buyer profile mean the capital always moves to a different rhythm. The South East, while positive at 6.3%, is also more subdued than much of the country.

The only region firmly moving the other way is Northern Ireland, down 13.4%, which reflects its own local dynamics rather than a UK wide trend.

The key takeaway is simple. This is not a boom, but it is a market rebuilding momentum from the ground up. Buyers are active, sales are being agreed, and for those pricing sensibly, the conditions in early 2026 are far healthier than the headlines would have you believe.