After a subdued end to 2025, the first quarter of 2026 has quietly rebuilt confidence in the housing market. March may be the strategic launch point sellers have been waiting for.

Global events can ripple into the property market in surprising ways. Recent tensions involving Iran have nudged oil prices, inflation expectations and mortgage funding costs. But what does that really mean for UK home buyers and sellers? This article looks at the link between geopolitics, interest rates and property prices.

At first glance, UK house prices rising tens of thousands of per cent since 1900 look absurd. But annualised over 126 years, growth averages around 4.5 to 5 per cent a year. It is not sudden surges but steady compounding that drives values higher, showing property rewards time in the market more than attempts to time it.

January 2026 showed a market regaining momentum. Across much of the UK, sales agreed are running ahead of two years ago, led by the Midlands and East. Scotland and Wales are also strengthening. London remains mixed, and Northern Ireland softer. This is not a boom, but a steady, broad based rebuild driven by realistic pricing.