As the industry settles into a new year, 2026 already feels different in tone to what came before. Not calmer across the board, yet less frantic. Less reactive. More measured.
For property, this looks like a year of adjustment rather than reinvention. The big shocks of recent years are no longer landing weekly, although the pressures they created have not disappeared. Instead, they are reshaping behaviour, expectations and decision-making across the sector.
House prices are expected to move gently rather than dramatically. In most areas, modest growth is forecast, with regional differences continuing to matter. Affordability still dictates momentum, and that puts a natural cap on how far prices can realistically go. This feels less like a boom or correction, and more like a slow recalibration.
Mortgage rates also sit at the heart of 2026’s shape. The expectation of greater stability, and some easing, is already influencing confidence. Buyers who paused are starting to reappear, although few are rushing. Transactions may rise slightly, yet the days of frenetic competition remain behind us for now.
For renters, the picture is steadier without being easier. Rent rises are slowing in many areas, largely because they have little room left to climb. Tenants are already stretched, and that affordability ceiling is hard to ignore. Even so, genuine reductions remain rare.
The real challenge for renters continues to be supply. Homes leaving the rental market are not always replaced, particularly at the more affordable end. That keeps choice tight and competition present, even if the pace has softened compared with recent years.
Regulation also plays its part in shaping 2026. The Renters’ Rights Bill changes the tone of the market, offering greater security and clearer standards. This brings reassurance for many tenants, although it also influences landlord behaviour. Some become more selective, others step back altogether. The balance remains delicate.
Across the wider industry, there is a growing sense that technology and data are not the instant fix once promised. More information exists than ever, yet clarity remains elusive. Conveyancers, agents and advisers are dealing with volume as much as complexity, and refinement is increasingly valued over speed alone.
Build-to-rent continues to expand in certain cities, offering professionally managed homes and longer tenancies. These developments help at the margins, although they do not solve affordability challenges on their own. For many renters, location and price still dictate choice more than tenure model.
For buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants alike, 2026 feels like a year where realism matters. Expectations are more grounded. Decisions are slower. Advice, context and local understanding carry more weight than bold predictions.
That is the shape of property this year. Not dramatic, not static, yet quietly reshaping itself.
On Tuesday 12th January at 1pm, Property Matters returns with Gareth Wax in the chair, joined by Hamish McLay, and we will also be joined by Silas J Lees, author of Homebuyers Secrets, bringing his perspective on what the year ahead may hold for buyers navigating a changing market.
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