NEWS·AUGUST 2026
Average UK house prices rose 2% in the year to June 2026, according to the latest UK House Price Index, with prices edging up 0.1% between May and June. It marks the market's most consistent run of growth since 2022.
The index confirms what lender data has been suggesting through the spring: Nationwide recorded annual growth of 2.2% in June. The recovery is real but measured, and its geography is striking. Northern Ireland continues to record the fastest price growth of any UK region, while London remains the slowest, reflecting stretched affordability at the capital's price points.
Two years ago the housing market was absorbing the fastest rate rising cycle in a generation. Today, with Bank Rate at 3.75% and expected to ease further, mortgage affordability has improved steadily, and the market has responded with modest, sustainable growth rather than a boom.
For sellers, the message is realism rewarded: correctly priced homes are selling, while ambitious pricing still meets resistance. For buyers, improved affordability and greater choice, including stock released by landlords exiting ahead of rental reform, have created the best buying conditions in several years.
The supply side remains the long term question. Planning reform and the affordable homes programme are moving, but delivery takes years, and the structural shortage that underpins values is untouched.
Our expectation for the rest of 2026 is more of the same: low single digit growth nationally, regional markets outpacing the capital, and transaction volumes continuing their steady recovery.
NEWS·AUGUST 2026
Average UK house prices rose 2% in the year to June 2026, according to the latest UK House Price Index, with prices edging up 0.1% between May and June. It marks the market's most consistent run of growth since 2022.
The index confirms what lender data has been suggesting through the spring: Nationwide recorded annual growth of 2.2% in June. The recovery is real but measured, and its geography is striking. Northern Ireland continues to record the fastest price growth of any UK region, while London remains the slowest, reflecting stretched affordability at the capital's price points.
Two years ago the housing market was absorbing the fastest rate rising cycle in a generation. Today, with Bank Rate at 3.75% and expected to ease further, mortgage affordability has improved steadily, and the market has responded with modest, sustainable growth rather than a boom.
For sellers, the message is realism rewarded: correctly priced homes are selling, while ambitious pricing still meets resistance. For buyers, improved affordability and greater choice, including stock released by landlords exiting ahead of rental reform, have created the best buying conditions in several years.
The supply side remains the long term question. Planning reform and the affordable homes programme are moving, but delivery takes years, and the structural shortage that underpins values is untouched.
Our expectation for the rest of 2026 is more of the same: low single digit growth nationally, regional markets outpacing the capital, and transaction volumes continuing their steady recovery.