2 February 2026
If you are covering the latest Nationwide house price index, please see the following comment from Karen Noye, mortgage expert at Quilter:
“The latest Nationwide house price data reveals the market saw a small uptick in January, but it was far from a roaring start to the year. With prices rising by 0.3% month-on-month and 1.0% over the past year, activity remains relatively subdued.
“This caution is understandable. With two or three base rate cuts expected later this year, many buyers are only tentatively engaging, weighing up whether to move now or wait for slightly cheaper mortgage rates to feed through. As a result, demand is being delayed rather than cancelled, particularly among first-time buyers who remain highly sensitive to affordability pressures.
“Realistically, this means we are unlikely to see a period of rapid house price growth in the near future. Affordability constraints remain a hard limit on how far prices can run ahead, even as borrowing costs begin to ease.
“That said, this looks less like a market losing momentum and more like one in a holding pattern. Mortgage pricing has already improved compared with this time last year, and further rate cuts should gradually ease monthly repayment pressures. As confidence builds, demand is more likely to strengthen steadily through the year rather than surge all at once.”
