Zoopla: Demand is lagging behind 2025, but the number of homes for sale is at an eight-year high

According to the real estate website Zoopla, the average number of properties listed for sale per estate agent at the beginning of the year exceeded thirty

As stock returns to the market after a tumultuous 2025, the number of homes listed for sale on Zoopla is at its highest level in eight years.

According to Zoopla, during the first two weeks of this year, estate agents listed an average of 32 properties for sale on its website, compared to 30 in 2025 and 28 in 2024.

According to Zoopla, 33% of the properties listed at the beginning of this year had been listed in 2025, taken off the market, and then relisted. It claimed that this was brought on by uncertainty about how the budget would affect the housing market.

"After a slow end to 2025, it is encouraging to see a strong rebound in buyer demand over the first weeks of the year across all parts of the country," stated Richard Donnell, executive director of Zoopla.

"An increasing number of properties for sale indicates that many households have a strong underlying desire to relocate. A "

Zoopla housing stock chart for January 2026.

Southern England's real estate market is leading the way.

According to the real estate portal, this year's total number has increased due to the large number of properties for sale in London and the South East on the Zoopla website.

In comparison to 2025, there were 16% more properties available in the capital during the first two weeks of January this year, and 9% more in the South East.

Homes in the southern areas were most affected by budget uncertainty, according to Zoopla, which caused sales to stall in the last few months of 2025.

For instance, homeowners in the south, where house prices are typically higher than in the rest of the UK, will be more affected by the mansion tax, which was announced in the Autumn Budget and will be applied to homes worth more than £2 million.

According to Zoopla, the southern region's greater housing stock levels are controlling home prices.

On the other hand, there is more room for house price growth in other regions of the UK where the supply of available homes is comparable year over year.

Demand is still 10% lower than in 2025, despite the fact that there were more homes available at the beginning of this year and Zooplas' most recent data indicates a significant increase in buyer demand after Christmas.

Demand is 20% higher than it was at the beginning of 2023, but it is still high compared to historical levels.

What's going on in the rental market?

Others may be more eager to buy-to-let, and not everyone is in the market to purchase for themselves.

Average rents outside of London increased by 2.2 percent between 2024 and 2025, according to separate data released by Rightmove. This percentage was 0.8 percent inside the capital.

According to the property website, this was the least amount that rental prices had increased outside of London and within London since 2018 and 2020, respectively.

It projects a 2 percent increase in rental prices for yet another muted year.

However, Rightmove stated that landlords have cause for optimism.

According to the most recent UK Finance data, there were 13% more new buy-to-let mortgages taken out in the year ending in October compared to the same period in 2024, while there were 23% more remortgages.

According to Propertymark CEO Nathan Emerson, the affordability of buy-to-let mortgages has improved as a result of declining mortgage rates, which is a positive indication.

He went on: "As 2026 progresses, a consistent rise in rents indicates a more stable but still constrained market, highlighting the necessity of sustained investment in the private rental sector. A "

In a different article, we describe how landlords are impacted by the Renters Rights Act.