What’s happening with UK house prices? Latest property forecasts for 2026
With mortgage rates creeping back up and ongoing market volatility, can we expect house prices to slide?
The ripple effects of the conflict in the Middle East continue to be felt across the UK housing market.
Tensions between Iran and the US, despite dissipating somewhat, have added to fears global inflation may rise, decreasing the likelihood of interest rate falls.
The Bank of England has held interest rates at 3.75% since the start of 2026 as it takes a cautionary approach to rising inflation.
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This means mortgage rates are unlikely to get significantly cheaper any time soon, and they remain higher than before the outbreak of war in the Middle East.
The average two-year fixed rate deal is 5.53% as of 30 June compared to 4.83% as of 27 February, according to data firm Moneyfacts.
Homes are also taking longer to sell than usual, in part due to homeowners overvaluing their properties but also due to suppressed demand, according to recent research by Zoopla.
A survey of 2,064 people carried out by the property portal found 44% of homeowners listed their homes but couldn’t sell, of which a third (34%) said their property asking price was too high despite believing it was fairly valued beforehand. Meanwhile, 53% of respondents who did sell in the last three years said they had to cut their asking price to attract a buyer.
How much can you now expect to pay for a house?
We look at the latest data from the major house price indices, including Halifax, Nationwide and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Zoopla, as well as Rightmove for asking prices.
Each house price index (HPI) report varies, although the main indices put the average UK house price at roughly between £270,000 and £375,000.
That said, these are UK average prices, and prices can vary dramatically depending on the region and methodology of each HPI.
HM Land Registry UK House Price Index
The most authoritative house price index is HM Land Registry, as its data includes cash purchases as well as homes financed through a mortgage. Data is published on a six-week time lag, making it more retrospective than other house price indices.
According to the latest data from the Land Registry, the average house price is £270,080 as of April 2026, up 0.7% on the month before.
Nationwide House Price Index
The most recent Nationwide data shows the average UK house price sits at £277,484 as of June 2026.
Annual house price growth edged up to 2.2% in June, up from 1.7% growth rate in May, although prices were broadly flat on a monthly basis, taking into account seasonal effects (activity typically picking up over summer, for example).
Halifax House Price Index
The latest Halifax HPI shows the average UK house price is £298,806 as of May 2026, down 0.1% from the month before.
Rightmove House Price Index
Unlike Nationwide and Halifax’s HPIs, which are based on the building society and bank’s valuations at the mortgage-approval stage, Rightmove’s HPI is based on asking prices.
According to Rightmove, asking prices fell by 0.6% in the month to June, taking the average asking price to £376,191.
Zoopla House Price Index
The Zoopla HPI uses sold prices, mortgage valuations and data for agreed sales to calculate house prices for any given month.
According to Zoopla’s latest data, the average house price in the UK is £272,300 as of May 2026, up slightly from £271,900 in April.
How much confidence is there in the market?
As well as the five main house price indices, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) also publishes a monthly UK Residential Market Survey.
The survey generates net balance scores between -100 and +100 in response to a series of questions put to its members (estate agents and surveyors) about how the housing market has changed for better or worse.
The latest survey, covering the month of May, reveals members believe the knock-on effects from tensions in the Middle East could be stabilising.
New buyer enquiries received a -34% score, the same as the April survey, but it was the first time the reading didn’t fall since the January survey.
On agreed sales, RICS members reported a net balance score of -37%, down from -36% in March. While showing further declining sales, the pace at which these numbers are falling appears to be slowing, again suggesting a period of better stability.
Will house prices rise in 2026 and beyond?
At the start of the year, estate agents and economists were relatively optimistic about prospects for UK housing growth in 2026, but the picture is less rosy now.
Economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics believe house prices will rise by just 1% in 2026, after previously forecasting they would rise by 3%.
Estate agents Savills is forecasting a 2% drop this year, while Knight Frank recently suggested there will be more “downward pressure” on prices despite forecasting growth of 1.5% for 2026 earlier in the year.
