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UK House Price Index for August 2026

ended 21. October 2026

UK house prices increased 0.9% in the year to August 2026, down from the revised estimate of 1.2% in the 12 months to July 2026. Average house prices in the UK increased by 0.3% between July 2026 and August 2026, compared with a increase 0.6% from the same period 12 months ago (July 2025 and August 2025), the UK House Price Index found.

The UK Property Transactions Statistics showed that in August 2026, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 95,000. This is 1.9% lower than a year ago (August 2025). Between July 2026 and August 2026, UK transactions decreased by 1.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The highest monthly house price increase was in London where prices increased by 0.7% in the year to August 2026.

The highest annual growth was in the North East where prices increased by 3.2% in the year to August 2026.

Questions for Newspagers

  1. What is your reaction to the house price index?
  2. What does it reveal about the property market?
  3. What needs to be done in the Budget to change this sluggish performance?

6 responses from the Newspage community

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Nouran MoustafaVerified
Practice Principal & IFA at Roxton Wealth
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This is a sluggish housing market, not a collapsing one.

Prices are still 0.9% higher than a year ago, but transactions are down and mortgage approvals have weakened. Buyers are interested, but affordability and uncertainty are making them slower to commit.

The regional split is important too. London prices are actually 2.2% lower than a year ago, while the North East is up 3.2%, so there is no single UK housing market.

For the Budget, housing needs confidence, affordability and supply. I would avoid measures that simply inflate demand or make moving more expensive. Planning, new supply and a stable tax environment matter more.

The market does not need another short-term sugar rush. It needs people confident enough to transact again.
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Stephen PerkinsVerified
Norwich Mortgage Broker and Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
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House prices may be up 0.9% on paper, but with inflation running much higher they are still falling in real terms. The more revealing figures are weaker transactions and mortgage approvals, which show a market where people still want to move but affordability is holding activity back.

The Budget should avoid trying to boost house prices for the sake of it. Buyers and sellers need greater certainty around borrowing and the cost of moving. A more stable mortgage market would do far more to get transactions flowing again than another short-term scheme designed simply to push demand.
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Craig FishVerified
Director at Lodestone Mortgages
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Annual growth of 0.9% is a market stalling, not crashing. Prices are still edging upwards, but with 95,000 sales in August, 1.9% down on a year ago and slipping again month on month, the engine is idling. The serious buyers I’m working with are still out there and negotiating hard, so buyers haven’t gone away, they’ve just stopped overpaying. Sellers who price sensibly are getting deals over the line, while those who believed an inflated valuation are left watching. The North East at 3.2% shows that where homes are within reach, the market still works. The Budget needs three things. First, stop treating stamp duty as untouchable: abolish it for first-time buyers and exempt downsizers to free up more family homes. Second, scrap the Your First Home equity loan, which props up developer prices and leaves buyers carrying the risk. Third, and most importantly, deliver a Budget the markets trust, because that is what brings mortgage rates down. A gimmick won’t fix this, but credibility will.
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Tony SanchezVerified
Founder at Bridging Loan Directory
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The market doesn’t need house prices to race ahead to be healthy. It needs people to be able to afford a move and complete it. Annual growth of 0.9% tells us prices are broadly holding up nationally, but it says little about how easily an individual property will sell.

For anyone using short-term property finance, a valuation is not a buyer. Modest national price growth is no guarantee that a sale will complete before a loan needs repaying. The asking price, likely buyer and time needed to complete deserve as much attention as the headline value.

I’d like the Budget to focus on making transactions and development more workable, with clear tax policy and practical support for housing delivery. Success should be measured in homes delivered and moves completed, rather than simply higher prices.
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Tony RedondoVerified
Founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange
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The August 2026 UK House Price Index points to a cooling market. Annual growth slowed to 0.9% from 1.2% in July, while monthly transactions fell 1.5% to 95,000, some 1.9% below last year. The regional split is stark: the Northeast led at 3.2%, whereas London contracted by 2.2%. Cornwall tells its own story with average prices around £276,000, but transactions have dropped sharply as post-pandemic coastal buying fades and high mortgage rates bite. Local house-price-to-earnings sits at 8.4x, against 7.5x nationally. Second-home surcharges have also dragged flat and holiday-home prices down roughly 4%. The Budget must act by introducing targeted stamp duty relief for local first-time buyers, ring-fenced rural affordable housing grants, and planning reform to unblock supply. But above all, economic growth. Not rhetoric but concrete measures that make work pay and encourage private enterprise, rather than treating it as a cash cow for pet projects.
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Harry GoodliffeVerified
Director at HTG Mortgages
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No one is losing money on their house. They just can’t sell it. Prices up 0.9% is close to standing still, and the number that actually matters is 95,000 sales in a month, fewer than last year and falling again. The North East growing at 3.2% tells you where a mortgage still buys something. The reason the market has stalled is that moving costs too much, and the Government sends the biggest bill. Stamp duty takes thousands off a family move before the estate agent and solicitor have been paid. If the Budget doesn’t cut it, expect fewer sales again by spring.