By clicking a retailer link you consent to third-party cookies that track your onward journey. This enables W? to receive an affiliate commission if you make a purchase, which supports our mission to be the UK's consumer champion.
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.
The average UK home is now worth £270,080, with the latest Land Registry figures showing annual house price growth of 3.8%.
However, these figures need to be approached cautiously because changes to stamp duty thresholds in England and Northern Ireland last April have influenced year-on-year comparisons.
Data also shows that prices jumped up marginally, by 0.7% between March and April.
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.
Find the right mortgage using the fee-free service provided by L&C Mortgages
Compare mortgagesIf you click on the link and complete a mortgage with L&C Mortgages, L&C is paid a commission by the lender and will share part of this fee with Which? Ltd helping fund our not-for-profit mission. We do not allow this relationship to affect our editorial independence. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
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 April 2026.
Over the past year, average UK house prices increased by 3.8%, according to the Land Registry. This figure needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. Last April was the first month after the change to stamp duty thresholds, which caused house prices to dip. Between March 2025 and April 2025 the average UK house price fell by 2.9%.
Many buyers who might otherwise have purchased later in the year rushed through sales before stamp duty became more expensive. As a result, demand cooled in April and house prices fell back after the rush to complete purchases before the tax changes.
There's a gap of £103,850 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:
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 (June 2026) | -0.6% | -0.5% |
| Zoopla (April 2026) | 0.0% | +1.5% |
| Nationwide (May 2026) | -0.6% | +1.7% |
| Halifax (May 2026) | -0.1% | +0.5% |
As with the UK average house price, annual changes to regional averages also need to be approached cautiously.
House prices dropped in April 2025 in response to the change in stamp duty thresholds. As a result, year-on-year changes to average house prices have been artificially inflated. For example, in the North East annual growth is almost at 10%, while in the North West and Yorkshire and Humber it is over 7%.
London is the only region that registered a year-on-year drop in house prices, by 2.1%.
Month-on-month, average house prices are growing in most of the UK. Only in Wales and the South East have prices fallen between March and April.
Scotland recorded the largest month-on-month jump in house prices, with them rising 2.7%. Interestingly, London also recorded house price growth between March and April, of 1.9%.
| Country/region | Property price | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £291,000 | +0.6% | +3.9% |
| Scotland | £192,000 | +2.7% | +2.8% |
| Wales | £212,000 | -0.3% | +3.5% |
| Northern Ireland (January-March 2026) | £198,000 | n/a | +7.4% |
| East Midlands | £242,000 | 0.0% | +5.5% |
| East of England | £336,000 | +0.3% | +3.8% |
| London | £553,000 | +1.9% | -2.1% |
| North East | £163,000 | +0.7% | +9.9% |
| North West | £216,000 | +0.6% | +7.2% |
| South East | £377,000 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| South West | £303,000 | +0.3% | +3.5% |
| West Midlands | £251,000 | +1.8% | +5.8% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £208,000 | +0.3% | +7.2% |
Source: UK House Price Index, 17 June 2026. Monthly data isn't available for Northern Ireland; figures are released each quarter. Average prices are rounded to the nearest thousand.
Housing transactions spiked in March 2025 as buyers rushed to complete before stamp duty changes were introduced.
The most recent HMRC data shows that an estimated 101,030 transactions took place in April 2026, up 53% from 2025.
The graph below illustrates the fluctuations in numbers over the past three years.
The time taken to find a buyer is currently falling. This is mostly due to seasonal increases in the number of people looking to move home.
The graph shows how the time taken to find a buyer falls during the summer months and rises during the winter.
Rightmove says that sellers are currently taking an average of 60 days to secure a buyer.
At the start of the year there was a consensus among experts that house prices will rise in 2026:
At the start of June, Savills updated its forecast to a 2% fall in house prices. It cited the impact of rising mortgage costs behind the change.
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.
Mortgage rates have fallen in the past two months, but remain far higher than at the start of 2026.
The average two-year fixed rate is 5.60% and the average five-year fix stands at 5.58% (17 June).
A very limited number of sub-4% mortgages are still available for borrowers, but to secure a rate beginning with a 3, consumers will have to choose a variable-rate tracker.
For the latest information, see our guide to the best mortgage rates, updated daily.
If you're approaching the end of your fixed term, our guide on what to do if you need to remortgage outlines 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 17 June, which included the latest Land Registry house price index data.
