Regional Gains Broaden
as London Steadies
Key Headlines
- Prices Firm Again: The mix-adjusted average asking price for England & Wales rose 0.4% over the month to £366,398. Annualised growth stands at 0.9%, up from around 0.5% at the start of the year, though it has eased back slightly from May's 1.1%.
- Supply Eases: Total unsold stock stands at 501,337 — up over the month, but 7.8% below a year ago — while new instructions are down around 17% year-on-year. Supply is tightening, helping to underpin prices.
- Broad-Based Gains: Asking prices rose month-on-month in every English region, Wales and Scotland. The more affordable markets continue to lead, consistent with stretched affordability steering demand northward.
- London Finds a Floor: Greater London has halted its slide, with the annual rate now flat (0.0%) after a prolonged decline. The capital remains the laggard but is no longer dragging the national figure lower.
- Time on Market Steadies: The typical (median) time to sell holds at around 86 days. With stock elevated, a meaningful tail of over-ambitiously priced properties continues to linger well beyond the average.
- The North and West Lead: Annual growth is strongest in Wales (+3.3%), Scotland (+3.1%) and the North West (+2.7%). Greater London (0.0%) and the South East (+0.1%) bring up the rear.
- Rents Firm in Most Regions: Average asking rents are broadly flat for England & Wales year-on-year (+0.2%) but with marked regional strength — the North East (+10.5%) and Wales (+11.9%) lead, while Yorkshire & the Humber (-1.3%) is the sole faller.
- Rates Hold Steady: With the Bank of England base rate at 3.75% and average fixed mortgage rates around 5.6–5.7%, borrowing costs have stabilised. Markets expect another hold at the 18 June MPC meeting, easing the rate anxiety that clouded the spring.
Market Overview
Stock levels edged higher over the month, with agents' portfolios reaching 501,337 unsold properties. That total is, however, 7.8% lower than a year ago, and new instructions are down sharply too. Supply is gradually tightening from last year's highs which, alongside resilient demand, helps explain why prices have continued to firm.
The UK property market enters the summer on a steadier footing than many had feared. The interest-rate anxiety that clouded the spring has receded: the Bank of England has held its base rate at 3.75% since December, and money markets expect another hold at the 18 June meeting. With borrowing costs no longer climbing, buyer demand has proved more durable than the more pessimistic forecasts allowed for.
Average fixed mortgage rates have edged down to around 5.6% to 5.7%, with an unusually narrow gap between two- and five-year deals. With CPI at 2.8% — still above the Bank's 2% target — affordability remains stretched, and the Bank has signalled caution over energy-driven inflation later in the year, leaving the door open to a rise from the summer onwards. For now, the absence of fresh rate shocks has been enough to coax cautious buyers back and underpin modest price growth.
Stock Levels Analysis
Total unsold stock edged up over the month to 501,337, but it now sits 7.8% below where it stood a year ago, and new instructions are down sharply too. After the relentless build-up through 2025, supply is gradually tightening. Even so, stock remains high enough by historical standards to keep buyers well-supplied and to cap the pace of price growth, particularly across southern England where inventory is heaviest.
TOTAL UNSOLD PROPERTY STOCK (APR 2016 - JUN 2026)
Source: Home.co.uk Property Search Index
Asking Price Trend
Asking prices firmed by a further 0.4% over the month, taking the mix-adjusted average for England and Wales to £366,398 (index 156.50). Annualised growth stands at 0.9% — up from around 0.5% at the turn of the year, though down slightly from May's 1.1% — with gains recorded in every English region, Wales and Scotland. Greater London, long the drag on the national figure, has flattened to an annual rate of 0.0%.
With the rate environment stabilising and demand proving resilient, the broad-based correction feared in the spring now looks less likely. That said, with stock still elevated and asking prices falling in real terms, any nominal gains are likely to remain modest through the second half of the year.
HOME.CO.UK ASKING PRICE INDEX (JUN 2020 TO JUN 2026)
Source: Home.co.uk HAPI Index
Regional Variation
Asking prices rose across the board this month, with all eleven regions in positive territory. The pattern of recent years persists: the more affordable markets of the North, Wales and Scotland are setting the pace, while the higher-value South and the capital lag behind. The charts below set the latest moves in a longer context, over both five and twenty years.
Over five years the North West (+22.1%), Wales (+19.2%) and the North East (+18.9%) lead the field, while Greater London has effectively flatlined (-0.1%). Stretch the horizon to twenty years and the ranking inverts: London remains the runaway long-term winner (+75.9%), with the North East (+28.6%) the clear laggard now beginning to play catch-up. Tellingly, not one region has kept pace with RPI inflation (+108.8%) over two decades.
5-YEAR REGIONAL PRICE GROWTH (JUN 2021 – JUN 2026)
20-YEAR REGIONAL PRICE GROWTH (JUN 2006 – JUN 2026)
The contrast between nominal gains and the cost of living is stark. Over twenty years the average England and Wales home has risen 60.2%, while RPI inflation has climbed 108.8% — so in real terms bricks and mortar have lost ground for the cash buyer. Rental income and leverage will have improved the picture for many landlords, though rising taxation and regulation continue to erode those margins.
Source: Home.co.uk and Office for National Statistics
UK Asking Prices by region
Time on Market Analysis
The typical (median) time to find a buyer holds at around 86 days. With stock levels elevated, well-priced homes continue to sell briskly, while a sizeable tail of over-optimistically priced properties lingers and keeps the average elevated.
TYPICAL TIME ON MARKET (MEDIAN DAYS) - JUN 2021 TO MAY 2026
Regional Supply Change (12-Month) — June 2026
Per-region time-on-market figures are unavailable this month; the grid below instead shows the change in the flow of new supply over the past year. New instructions are down across every region compared with a year ago — led by Greater London (-23.5%) — which, even with total unsold stock still elevated, helps explain why prices have continued to firm.
Source: Home.co.uk | Note: Average = Mean, Typical = Median days on market of unsold property
Market Turnover & Real Price Growth
Market turnover — a measure of sales activity — rebounded over the month but remains below its level of a year ago, reflecting a market where buyers are transacting cautiously amid stretched affordability. In real, inflation-adjusted terms asking prices remain around 2.2% below their level a year ago: the market's nominal resilience continues to mask a gentle erosion of real value.
MARKET TURNOVER (PROPERTIES PER DAY) - APR 2016 TO JUN 2026
REAL ASKING PRICE GROWTH (INFLATION-ADJUSTED) - JUN 2023 TO JUN 2026
Expert Commentary
Market Outlook
Six months ago the market was braced for a difficult year. Mortgage rates were elevated, stock was piling up on agents' books, and many commentators saw a real risk of a broad price correction. That correction has not arrived. Instead, the market has absorbed the higher cost of borrowing with surprising composure.
The key change is stability. The Bank of England has held its base rate at 3.75% since December, fixed mortgage rates have settled into a 5.6–5.7% range, and the gap between two- and five-year deals has all but vanished. Predictability, even at a higher level, is something buyers can plan around — and while transaction volumes remain below last year, they have steadied after a soft spring.
Crucially, the recovery in pricing is broad rather than narrow. Every region recorded a monthly gain, and annual growth is now positive almost everywhere, led by the more affordable markets of Wales, Scotland and the North. Greater London, which has dragged on the national average for the best part of two years, has finally stopped falling. A market rising on a broad front is a healthier one than a market propped up by a single region.
There are caveats. Stock remains high, which will continue to cap how far and how fast prices can rise, and sellers who over-reach on price still find their homes lingering. In real, inflation-adjusted terms asking prices are still slipping, down 2.2% on the year — nominal resilience is not the same as real growth. The Bank's own caution over energy-driven inflation later in the year means a rate rise cannot be ruled out, which would test the market's newfound confidence.
On balance, though, the picture is one of a market that has found its feet. Barring a fresh shock, we expect modest, single-digit annual price growth to persist through the second half of the year, with the regional pattern — affordable areas leading, the capital lagging — firmly entrenched.
Rental Market
Average asking rents have stabilised after the falls seen earlier in the year. Across England and Wales the mean asking rent is broadly flat year-on-year (+0.2%), but the regional picture is far from uniform: the North East (+10.5%), Wales (+11.9%) and Scotland (+7.6%) have posted strong annual gains, while Yorkshire and the Humber (-1.3%) is the only region to register a fall. Greater London remains comfortably the most expensive market, with a mean asking rent of £2,915 pcm.
REGIONAL RENTS — MEAN & MEDIAN MONTHLY (PCM), JUNE 2026
| Region | Listings | Mean PCM | Median PCM | 12-mo | 1-mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | 4,108 | £1,413 | £1,300 | +1.2% | +1.2% |
| East Midlands | 3,299 | £1,032 | £950 | +7.4% | −3.2% |
| Greater London | 13,660 | £2,915 | £2,400 | +5.3% | +0.7% |
| North East | 1,565 | £1,002 | £815 | +10.5% | +3.4% |
| North West | 4,707 | £1,200 | £1,100 | +3.9% | −0.5% |
| Scotland | 1,594 | £1,276 | £1,100 | +7.6% | −4.9% |
| South East | 7,362 | £1,667 | £1,425 | +1.3% | +1.5% |
| South West | 3,763 | £1,423 | £1,250 | +6.2% | +5.6% |
| Wales | 1,236 | £1,177 | £1,000 | +11.9% | +21.4% |
| West Midlands | 4,159 | £1,107 | £1,050 | +4.2% | +1.2% |
| Yorks & The Humber | 3,422 | £1,022 | £910 | −1.3% | +1.1% |
| England & Wales | 48,875 | £1,749 | £1,501 | +0.2% | +1.3% |
TOP LONDON POSTCODE DISTRICTS BY MEAN RENT
| Postcode district | Listings | Mean PCM | Median PCM |
|---|---|---|---|
| W8 | 110 | £6,641 | £4,319 |
| NW8 | 202 | £5,523 | £4,058 |
| NW3 | 141 | £5,043 | £3,500 |
| SW7 | 120 | £4,877 | £3,950 |
| SW3 | 140 | £4,797 | £3,012 |
| W2 | 247 | £4,151 | £3,250 |
| SW8 | 166 | £4,052 | £3,448 |
| NW1 | 277 | £3,884 | £3,250 |
| SW11 | 334 | £3,854 | £3,424 |
| SW6 | 196 | £3,692 | £3,110 |
| W4 | 105 | £3,488 | £2,600 |
| SE1 | 332 | £3,457 | £3,000 |
| SW18 | 123 | £3,430 | £2,750 |
| N1 | 171 | £3,254 | £3,100 |
| SW19 | 152 | £3,239 | £2,472 |
Source: Home.co.uk
About the Home Asking Price Index
The Home.co.uk Asking Price Index was originally devised in association with Calnea Analytics: the statistical consultancy responsible for the production of the official Land Registry House Price Index.
The Home.co.uk Asking Price Index (HAPI) is calculated using a weighting system based on the DCLG (formerly ODPM) Survey of English Housing Stock (published March 2006). This allows for enhanced regional delineation and conforms to the current geographical orthodoxy as set out by the Office of National Statistics.
The UK's Only Independent Forward Market Indicator
The HAPI is the UK's only independent forward market indicator. The published figures reflect current and historic confidence of buyers and sellers of UK property on the open market. The HAPI is calculated every month using around 500,000 UK property house prices found in the Home.co.uk Property Search Index. This figure represents the majority of the property for sale on the open market in the UK at any given time.
Methodology Note: Properties above £1m and below £20k are excluded from the calculations.
Contact Details and Further Information
For media enquiries please contact:
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Online Resources:
Home.co.uk website
HAPI methodology documentation
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Future Release Dates
- Wednesday 15th July 2026
- Saturday 15th August 2026
- Tuesday 15th September 2026