Market update from our Glasgow and Argyll branches – January 2026
We look at what is happening in the property market locally and nationally with updates from our branches in Shawlands, Cardonald and Dunoon.
December 2025
Before we look at how 2026 has started, we can look back on the stats for the last month of 2025. As you can see from the above snapshot of our performance figures, we agreed 16 new sales for our owners (compared to 18 in November 2025) and brought 17 new client’s properties to the market (22 - November 2025).
In total, we visited 44 homes to carry out market appraisals and valuations for homeowners during December.
These were extremely high figures for December, after the drop off in the market during November.
Buyer activity remained steady despite the festive period with 235 new buyers (244 - November 2025) registering for our ‘Heads Up’ property alerts and 220 viewings (180 – November 2025) carried out.
Tenant demand was also higher than expected for the time of the year with 211 new tenants registering with us in December (135 - November 2025).
January 2026
Craig Smith from the Shawlands branch in Glasgow commented “It was a somewhat strange end to 2025 with the market tailing off very early in November, likely due to pre-budget nerves, to only then unexpectedly pick back up in December.
We have seen this positive end to 2025 continue into 2026 and January’s projected figures across our branches are extremely encouraging. The Scottish Budget came and went with very little headlines to impact the confidence within the property market, and with mortgage rates at there lowest level since 2022, there is a lot for sellers and buyers to be encouraged about.
The rental market has also started strongly and we anticipate it to be another extremely tough and competitive year for tenants looking for a new home.”
Rightmove House Price Index
We take a look at what is happening nationally with the Rightmove House Price Index for January 2026. Here are the keys takeaways and headlines from the report:-
Largest ever January price jump, as market sentiment rebounds after the Budget
- The average price of homes coming to the market for sale rises in January to £368,031, a 2.8% increase from December (+£9,893). This is the largest ever price increase seen in the month of January, and the largest of any month since June 2015
- National average property prices are now 0.5% ahead of this time last year as prices rebound after the Budget
- However, the number of available homes for sale is the highest it’s been at this time of year since 2014, and with a third of existing homes for sale seeing a price reduction, new sellers should be wary of being too optimistic on price
- An early snapshot of activity shows that in the two weeks post-Christmas, buyer demand rose by 57% compared to the two weeks before Christmas, while the number of newly-listed homes for sale jumped by 81%
- Buyers can plan a new year move with less financial uncertainty alongside improved affordability for many
- Rightmove’s daily mortgage tracker shows that the average two-year fixed mortgage rate is at its lowest since before September 2022’s mini-Budget, as many major lenders cut rates to capitalise on new year activity
- In Scotland, average new seller asking prices dropped by 0.4% this month to £187,139. Year on year asking prices are currently 1.7% higher than January 2025. Average time to find a buyer is 42 days.
As always, if you have any questions relating to the property market or would like to discuss the current valuation of your home, please feel free to get in touch with your local Scottish Property Centre branch.
Looking to move in 2026? Get ahead and register for our ‘Heads Up Property Alerts’
Scottish Property Centre have branches in Dunoon, Cardonald and Shawlands covering the Argyll and Glasgow property markets. We have local experts serving local people.
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