Despite global uncertainty, both Rightmove and Zoopla are reporting that the UK housing market has remained steady over the last month. Read more about what’s been happening, including in our regions of Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire in our March Price Index report.
In Brief
Nationally the market has seen –
- Average new seller asking prices rose by 0.8% (+£3,023) in March to £371,042. This is a typical price increase for this time of year.¹
- The March market was steady despite the new global uncertainty created by the Iran war, but it’s too early to see the full impact.¹
- Rightmove says it has not seen the same kind of immediate and sharp response from movers that we saw for previous events such as stamp duty changes or the rapid mortgage rate rises in September 2022.¹
- The number of homes for sale at this time of year remains at its highest level for 11 years. This is limiting price growth and makes it important for sellers to price their properties carefully to compete with other homes on the market.¹
- The number of new listings coming onto the market over the same period is just 3% lower than last year, and 7% higher than 2024.¹
- The number of sales across the market is holding steady, supported by movers who already have their mortgages in place.²
- Average mortgage rates have gone up by around 0.4% in March, with fewer sub-4% mortgage deals.²
- Annual UK house price inflation is stable at +1.3%.²
- Buyer demand has weakened this month as more early-stage movers hold fire.²
In terms of the Welsh property market –
- The average house price in Wales is now £266,119, up 1.1% over the last month, and up 1.3% year on year¹.
- The average number of days for a Welsh property to find a buyer has dropped to 85¹.
¹Source – Rightmove
²Source – Zoopla
National Overview
Here is our monthly overview of the trends that Rightmove and Zoopla – two of the biggest names in the property market – have been seeing over the last month.
Rightmove’s Insights –
Rightmove says that through March it has seen the normal seasonal uplift in prices, adding that the market is ‘steady rather than strong’ for spring. It highlights that buyers have a lot of choice, with the number of properties for sale at its highest level for over 10 years.
For sellers it says there is a lot of competition in the market, with the average time it takes to sell at the longest since 2013. As a result, sellers need to be competitive from the start – setting a realistic asking price to attract a buyer is critical.
In light of the global uncertainty through March, Rightmove says it is encouraging that the property market has remained stable so far, but nobody knows what will happen over the coming weeks and months. Normally confidence would be building at the start of the peak spring market, but current world events are causing uncertainty.
Zoopla’s Insights –
Zoopla says that despite uncertainty because of events in the Middle East, the UK housing market is seeing steady sales activity.
With average mortgage rates rising by around 0.4% and many sub-4% deals withdrawn, buyer demand has weakened due to the higher borrowing costs and uncertainty impacting confidence.
It highlights that one clear trend has been a growing gap between buyer demand and sales agreed. It is reporting that enquiries from buyers have been lower than last year’s levels over the last three months, reflecting growing caution. In contrast, sales agreed are proving more resilient.
Zoopla explains the divergence being due to this year seeing fewer buyers overall, but those that there are tend to be committed and ready to proceed with finance in place. It is this group that are supporting sales levels, while buyers in the earlier stages are adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach.
Regional Insight from Cardigan Bay Properties
We specialise in the property market in West Wales and monitor developments here throughout the year to give you the best, most accurate advice. We cover the regions of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, and this month Helen Worrall, one of our founders, outlines the key trends we’ve seen through March 2026. If you’d like to find out more please get in touch.
March was another busy month here at Cardigan Bay Properties. While the number of valuations we carried out fell slightly (down 10% on 2025 figures) we were still doing more than one a day throughout the month, so the team was out visiting a lot of properties.
Overall, the number of offers accepted and the number of new property instructions we received were both on a par with 2025 figures.
However, the number of viewings we held increased significantly – up 32% on the number held in 2025. In addition, the number of new buyers registering with us increased by 35%, reflecting the continued activity in the market and the fact that demand is still there, despite the uncertain climate caused by the Middle East conflict.
We did start to see some impact from the war as we moved into April, with a couple of sales falling through due to nervousness around interest rates and some mortgage products being removed from the market.
It’s difficult to say how much further the war will impact the housing market here in Wales – with every day bringing a new headline – but with cost of living pressures we have seen more caution among buyers and this will, in turn, affect offers and prices.
Your Regional Insights
Please note that each month these figures are two to three months behind due to the Land Registry taking longer to register new sales, so this report shows figures from July 2019 (pre-Covid pandemic) to January 2026.
CEREDIGION
Ceredigion saw a strong increase in the average property price in January 2026 – up to £240,640 from £232,860 in December 2025 – with all property types experiencing a significant uplift in prices.
In terms of the percentage growth year on year, the average property increased by 4.1%, with the biggest increases seen for semi-detached houses (up 5.2%) and terraced properties (up 5.3%). Detached property prices grew by 3.1% and flats increased by 2%,
Looking at the monthly price change, the average property price in the region increased by 3.3%, with all except terraced properties reporting this level of growth. Terraced property prices increased by 3.5% over the month.
View the full Ceredigion report.
PEMBROKESHIRE
In Pembrokeshire the situation is a little different, with the average property price falling from £215,412 in December 2025 to £213,362 in January 2026. All property types experienced some level of drop.
The yearly percentage change was also down by 2.2% overall, with the biggest drops seen for flats (down 4.8%) and detached houses (down 2.9%).
The monthly percentage change for the region also fell by 1% overall for January. Detached properties saw a slightly bigger 1.1% drop over the month, while terraced properties saw the smallest fall of 0.7%.
View the full Pembrokeshire report.
CARMARTHENSHIRE
In Carmarthenshire the average property price increased slightly in January 2026 to £195,754 (up from £194,985 in December 2025), with all property types reporting a small increase.
For the yearly percentage change the average property price in the region was up 1.8%, with the biggest increases seen for semi-detached properties (up 2.6%) and terraced properties (up 2.3%). Detached property prices increased by 0.7% over the year, but prices for flats fell by 1%.
The monthly percentage change increased by just 0.4% overall, with the biggest increase for flats – up 0.9%, followed by terraced properties – up 0.6%.
View the full Carmarthenshire report.
CURRENT UK HOUSE PRICE INDEX
* As of January 2026, the average house price in the UK is £268,421, and the index stands at 102.9. Property prices have fallen by 0.3% compared to the previous month, and risen by 1.3% compared to the previous year.
*Details provided by the Land Registry. For more information on the House Price Index please CLICK HERE
Please note that the stats provided by the UK House Price Index are live and constantly evolving.
The information here is for guidance only. We always try to ensure that the information we provide is accurate at the time of publishing. The fast moving nature of the property market means that some information may be out of date when you read this article so please do your own research. We accept no responsibility or liability for any decisions you make based on this information.