First-time buyers target homes £10,000 pricier than last year as sales agreed turn positive for first time in 2026 — Zoopla

Zoopla's latest House Price Index shows first-time buyers targeting homes averaging £254,750, up 4.3% on a year ago — nearly three times the wider 1.5% rise to £271,900. Sales agreed have edged 1% ahead of last year, the first positive reading of 2026, even with overall buyer enquiries down 10%. For sellers in southern England, where prices have held flat or fallen, pricing realistically is the difference between moving and not moving this year. This is a thinner market doing more, not a recovery in demand.