Cotswold Market Comment

A positive start to 2026. As seen in Cotswold Life magazine.

Tom Hayman-Joyce confirms: Two of the key drivers of the property market are the availability of money and overall confidence.

Interest rates are slowly descending and, even if they remain where they are, they are still low compared with the long-term average. Affordability remains strong, and banks are lending at high income multiples (HSBC, for example, is offering up to 6.5 times income at 90% loan-to-value with rates below 4%). Even though many purchases in the Cotswolds are cash, the availability and affordability of mortgages remains a major driver of the market.

Plentiful supply of money

With this plentiful supply of money, if confidence continues to grow, the market should perform very well in 2026.

Property values softened in 2025 following the sharp rises seen in the early part of the decade. Even so, values remain significantly higher than they were at the start of the 2020s.

As a business, we have seen our market share of agreed sales grow sharply, up 30% over 2025, according to data from TwentyCi. This is a testament to our team’s experience, tenacity, and hard work as professional estate agents.

Ten year comparison

Compared with the ten-year average, there were 17% more properties coming to market in the North Cotswolds in January, down from over 30% in mid‑2025. This downward trend in available property suggests a rebalancing market which, if it continues, may lead to further price rises.

For now, buyers still have plenty of choice. The Cotswolds is never awash with property so, if you are considering a purchase, now is a good time to take advantage.

Current trends show that properties in excellent condition, having been recently refurbished, are attracting the highest demand. This is partly driven by increasingly time‑poor lifestyles, as well as the rising cost of building works in recent years.

Buying a home

That said, most people are buying a home rather than an investment. For me, the most important message is this: there is always limited choice in the Cotswolds and if a property is the right home for you go for it when the time is right. In the long term, the Cotswolds has all the key fundamentals to support strong capital growth and resilience.