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House prices edge down 0.1% in May, according to Halifax HPI

ended 05. June 2026

House prices edged down -0.1% in May, following a similar -0.1% fall in April, according to the Halifax House Price Index. 

Average property price now £298,806, compared with £299,251 in April. Annual growth up slightly to 0.5%, from 0.4% in April. Northern Ireland continues to record the UK’s strongest annual growth at 7.8%.

Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages, Halifax, said: “Property price trends continue to reflect the uncertainty linked to developments in the Middle East. Despite recent cuts to mortgage rates, higher inflation expectations have kept borrowing costs above the level seen at the start of the year, continuing to stretch affordability for many buyers and temper demand.

“Even so, overall activity has held up well, reflecting the underlying resilience of the UK housing market. Latest industry figures show transaction levels remain relatively stable, suggesting buyers and sellers are still moving.

“Among first-time buyers, annual growth is more subdued at +0.3%. While getting onto the property ladder remains a big challenge, there has been increasing support from lenders, including more flexible affordability checks and a growing range of low-deposit options.

“Looking ahead, borrowing costs and consumer confidence are likely to continue shaping activity in the coming months, with house prices expected to remain broadly stable while interest rates stay elevated. The housing market remains closely tied to wider global developments, with a return to sustained house price growth dependent on an improvement in the inflation outlook and a fall in mortgage costs.”

  • What is your reaction to the figures? What has caused the slight fall?
  • Is the housing market in trouble, or is it resilient?
  • What are your predictions for the months ahead?

Responses asap.

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Riz Malik
Independent Financial Adviser at R3 Wealth
Stagnation has clearly hit the UK property market as the data matches sentiment across the country. Who is to blame? There are many reasons both foreign and domestic. What is clear is that the solution needs to come from government as lenders have tried their best. Only one thing will move this market and that’s stamp duty reform.
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Harry Goodliffe
Director at HTG Mortgages
The reality is that mortgage rates are still higher than many buyers would like, and ongoing uncertainty both in government and across the wider world is having an impact on confidence. Inflation is also causing some people to think twice before committing to a purchase. That said, people are still buying and selling homes every day, which shows the market is proving more resilient than many expected. My feeling is that house prices will remain fairly flat over the next few months. If mortgage rates ease, confidence should start to pick up again towards the end of the year.
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Andrew Montlake
CEO at Coreco
A muted May was always likely given the higher mortgage rates, and weaker sentiment, caused by the war in the Middle East. But the Halifax is right to point out the efforts of lenders, who are doing their level best to help more people onto the property ladder. Innovation at higher loan-to-values is keeping things moving despite the fraught geopolitical environment and many first-time buyers are taking advantage of a strong negotiating environment.
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Rohit Kohli
Director at The Mortgage Stop
House prices are not falling off a cliff, but sellers are losing some of the control they had. Two monthly falls in a row point to a cooler, more cautious market. The key point is that this is not happening evenly. Halifax shows prices down annually in the South East and in London, while Northern Ireland iand the North West is up. Activity has not disappeared either. Mortgage approvals reached their highest level since January 2025, but buyer enquiries are still weak. That tells the real story: people are still moving, but they are negotiating harder and refusing to overpay. Unless mortgage rates fall meaningfully, I expect prices to stay flat, with sellers needing to be realistic.
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Chris Barry
Director at Thomas Legal
A real reduction in property values is worse than it seems given inflation is higher than targeted and pay rises have outstripped house price growth for the past few years.

What appears to be small incremental decreases over the past two months, actually points to very weak demand driven by consumer confidence and that’s concerning
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Babek Ismayil
CEO at homebuying platform OneDome
The UK's property market is not immune to wider geopolitical events, as the Halifax points out. But while house prices are under pressure, they are not imploding. When the war in the Middle East began, mortgage rates shot up significantly and this was always going to impact demand. But demand is still there and the current uncertainty in markets has opened a window for aspiring buyers to secure property at prices that were unthinkable at the beginning of the year. That awareness and sense of opportunity is keeping the market ticking along. When the conflict in the Middle East eventually resolves, the balance of power will once again start to shift back to sellers, but for now it is categorically a buyers' market and many people are taking advantage of that fact.
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Justin Moy
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
If you consider all the pressures that have attacked the UK property market since Labour came into government, seeing a near flat-line in annual growth is nothing short of a miracle and just shows how resilient the property ladder is. Beyond the headline figures, the understandable nervousness of first-time buyers has led them to sit on their hands longer, waiting for the right moment and greater confidence to make that leap. But with stability in the Middle East, we are just starting to find normality again.