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What's happening to house prices?
Sam covers personal finance topics, from the best savings rates to the reasons mortgage lenders say no. He enjoys crunching the numbers to help consumers get ahead.
House prices are still higher than a year ago, with prices rising only slightly at the start of 2026.
Land Registry figures show prices rose by just 1.2% in the 12 months to February, taking the average UK home to £267,957.
Prices increased by just 0.1% between January and February.
Here, Which? analyses what's happening to house prices according to other indices, including Halifax, Nationwide, Rightmove and Zoopla, explores regional differences, and explains what might come next for property prices in 2026.
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How have house prices changed?
The Land Registry's UK House Price Index is the most reliable barometer of what's happening to house prices, as it's based on actual property sales rather than asking prices. It works on a two-month lag, so the most recent figures are for February 2026.
Over the past year, average UK house prices increased by 1.2%, according to the Land Registry.
There is a gap of £103,380 between the average price paid by first-time buyers and those already on the housing ladder in Great Britain (data isn't available for Northern Ireland), highlighting the higher costs faced by those moving up the property ladder:
- First-time buyer £226,026
- Home mover £329,406
Average house prices over time
- Find out more: best mortgage rates. Check how rates compare for first-time buyers, home movers and those looking to remortgage
How do other house price indices compare?
In addition to Land Registry data, several other property price indices provide insight into current house prices.
The portal Rightmove provides the most up-to-date figures, but they're based on asking prices set by sellers rather than confirmed sales. Zoopla's figures are based on sold prices, mortgage valuations and recently agreed sales.
Nationwide and Halifax also publish their own monthly data, based on mortgage lending.
| House price index | Month-on-month change | Year-on-year change |
|---|---|---|
| Rightmove (April 2026) | +0.8% | -0.9% |
| Zoopla (February 2026) | 0.0% | +1.3% |
| Nationwide (March 2026) | +0.9% | +2.2% |
| Halifax (March 2026) | -0.5% | +0.8% |
- Find out more: best mortgage lenders
House price changes by region in February 2026
Land Registry data shows a mixture of rise and falls for average prices across regions between January and February. The North East recorded the largest increase of 2.7%.
Between December 2025 and January 2026, average property prices in London rose slightly. However, between January and February, London recorded the largest month-on-month drop, at 1.9%.
The South East and South West are the only other regions to record an annual fall in the average house price.
Three regions have house prices rising by more than 3% annually, Yorkshire and Humber, the North East and the North West.
| Country/region | Property price | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £290,000 | +0.2% | +0.8% |
| Scotland | £187,000 | -0.6% | +2.3% |
| Wales | £210,000 | +0.3% | +2.5% |
| Northern Ireland (October-December 2025) | £196,000 | n/a | +7.5% |
| East Midlands | £239,000 | -0.2% | +1.2% |
| East of England | £335,000 | +0.1% | +0.9% |
| London | £542,000 | -1.9% | -3.3% |
| North East | £163,000 | +2.7% | +3.6% |
| North West | £216,000 | +1.1% | +3.4% |
| South East | £377,000 | -0.4% | -0.9% |
| South West | £300,000 | 0.0% | -0.6% |
| West Midlands | £249,000 | +0.9% | +1.6% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £209,000 | +1.4% | +3.9% |
Source: UK House Price Index, 22 April 2026. Monthly data isn't available for Northern Ireland; figures are released each quarter. Average prices are rounded to the nearest thousand.
How many homes are being sold?
Housing transactions spiked in March 2025 as buyers rushed to complete before changes to stamp duty were introduced.
The most recent data from HMRC shows that an estimated 102,410 transactions took place in February 2026, down 6% from the figure in 2025.
The graph below illustrates the fluctuations in numbers over the past three years.
- Find out more: the cost of selling a house
How long does it take to sell a property?
Homes are generally taking longer to sell, as the number of properties on the market remains high compared with buyer demand.
Rightmove says that sellers are currently taking an average of 66 days to secure a buyer.
What will happen to house prices in 2026?
There's a consensus among experts that house prices will rise this year:
- Rightmove and Savills forecast a rise of 2%.
- Nationwide predicts that they could increase by between 2% and 4%.
- Halifax anticipates property prices will continue to grow gradually into 2026.
- Zoopla estimates that average UK house prices will rise by 1.5% in 2026, with an annual average increase of 2.1% a year between 2027 and 2029.
Is it possible to get a good mortgage deal?
Rising energy prices and economic uncertainty, driven by conflict in the Middle East, led lenders to increase mortgage rates in March and much of April.
The average two-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from 4.84% on 1 March 2026 to a peak of 5.9% on 7 April 2026.
The small piece of good news is that lenders are starting to cut fixed-rates, but rates remain much higher than in early March. The average two-year fixed-rate has only fallen slightly to 5.87% (22 April).
David Hollingworth, associate director at L&C Mortgages said, 'L&C’s remortgage tracker shows that the average of the top ten lenders’ best two-year remortgage fixed rates has already jumped from 3.77% at the beginning of March to 5.01% today [22 April], driving the cost of a £200k 25 year repayment mortgage up by almost £140 per month.'
For the latest information, see our guide on the best mortgage rates, which is updated daily.
If you're approaching the end of your fixed term, our guide on what to do if you need to remortgage offers advice on your options.
Finally, if you're struggling to make your current repayments, see our guide on what to do if you can't pay your mortgage.
This story is regularly updated with the latest house price index figures and expert views. The last update was on 22 April to include the latest Land Registry house price index data.
