Rightmove’s monthly mortgage tracker showed that this was based on the month’s average asking price for a home of £368,031.
Although house prices were 0.5% higher than the year before, the average two-year fixed rate fell from 4.99% to 4.23% year-on-year.
However, while mortgage payments were cheaper than the start of last year, rising house prices meant monthly bills were £35 more in January 2026 than in December 2025.
First-time buyer mortgages now less than £1k
Rightmove’s data showed that the average monthly mortgage payment for a first-time buyer dropped below £1,000, falling from £1,062 in the first month of last year to £975 this year. This was based on the asking price of a typical first-time buyer home, at £225,544.
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A 20% deposit for this property would be £45,109.
Regionally, buyers in London have seen the biggest reductions in monthly mortgage payments, with a £207 decline. Rightmove said this was because house prices in the city were higher, meaning proportional rate drops resulted in higher cash savings.
Average monthly mortgage payments were the cheapest in the North East due to lower house prices, averaging £853.
Other mortgage rates fall
Rightmove analysed mortgage pricing for refinancing and buy-to-let (BTL) products, finding that the typical remortgage rate in January was 4.32%, down from 5.14% last year.
Meanwhile, the average BTL mortgage rate fell from 5.51% to 4.84%.
The average remortgage rate is based on a two-year fixed rate with a £999 fee, and the average BTL mortgage rate is based on a two-year fixed rate with a 25% deposit and no fee.
Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert, said: “We saw some headline-grabbing low mortgage rates being offered by lenders at the end of 2025 and into January, which saw average rates drop to their lowest level since before the mini Budget.
“Since then, rates have stabilised and even ticked up marginally in places as the cost of funding mortgages has become more expensive, due to global and domestic economic events.”
