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Fresh Lloyds HPI, Rightmove and ONS readings show lender growth, softer asking prices and a ninth straight London fall

Week ending 23 July 2026 · published 23 July 2026

Lender, asking and official measures diverge

The week delivered three fresh readings of the UK housing market, each from a different part of the pipeline. The renamed Lloyds House Price Index, formerly the Halifax index, reported an average UK price of 299,330 pounds in June 2026, up 0.2 per cent month-on-month and 0.6 per cent year-on-year. Amanda Bryden of Lloyds said prices had risen for the first time in four months. First-time-buyer annual growth rose to 0.8 per cent from 0.3 per cent in May, with the average first-time-buyer property at 240,433 pounds. Lloyds said the methodology was unchanged and that the index already combined Halifax and Lloyds mortgage data.

Rightmove's July 2026 asking-price index showed newly listed prices falling 1.0 per cent (3,832 pounds) to 372,359 pounds, a steeper drop than the 10-year average July fall of 0.2 per cent. Available homes were close to a 12-year high for the time of year. Sales agreed in the first half of 2026 were 6 per cent below the same period in 2025 but level with 2024. Nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of homes completed in 2026 sold without an asking-price reduction.

The ONS UK House Price Index put the average transaction price at 271,000 pounds in May 2026, up 2.7 per cent year-on-year and down from a revised 3.9 per cent in April. ONS attributed the slowing to a base effect: prices rose 0.3 per cent between April and May 2026, against 1.5 per cent in the same period of 2025 after Stamp Duty Land Tax changes. Country readings showed England at 292,000 pounds (up 2.3 per cent), Wales at 215,000 pounds (up 4.2 per cent) and Scotland at 196,000 pounds (up 4.4 per cent). London prices fell 3.7 per cent year-on-year, the ninth consecutive annual decline. The lender indices diverge: Nationwide's June reading recorded annual growth of 2.2 per cent, against Lloyds at 0.6 per cent — a 1.6 percentage-point gap where the two usually track within about one point.

Mortgages, Bank Rate and rents

Rightmove's mortgage tracker put the average two-year fixed rate at 4.92 per cent in July, down from 5.07 per cent in June but above 4.25 per cent in February. Bank Rate remained at 3.75 per cent ahead of the next Monetary Policy Committee decision on 30 July 2026, with no fresh rate decision in the week.

The ONS Price Index of Private Rents, published in the same bulletin, recorded an average UK monthly private rent of 1,388 pounds in June 2026, up 3.3 per cent year-on-year and 44 pounds higher. Annual growth was unchanged from May. England averaged 1,446 pounds (up 3.4 per cent), Wales 843 pounds (up 4.9 per cent), Scotland 1,012 pounds (up 1.3 per cent) and Northern Ireland 877 pounds (up 2.9 per cent in April). The North East had England's highest rent inflation at 6.3 per cent; London the slowest at 2.2 per cent but the highest cash rent at 2,302 pounds.

Supported housing and digital planning

A national drive to end long-term rough sleeping launched on 20 July with 340 million pounds in funding, providing 1,200 homes and support for at least 3,000 people. The release cited Crisis estimates of 20,128 pounds per person for a year of rough sleeping against 1,426 pounds for prevention. Four case studies published on 21 July quantified digital planning gains: Basildon identified 23 per cent more potential urban housing sites, Durham halved its site-assessment time, Lewisham identified more than 3,000 small sites using an AI mapping tool and Reigate and Banstead cut council-owned-site assessment time by 89 per cent. These pages document PropTech Innovation Fund round 4 pilots run in 2024; 21 July 2026 was the publication date.

Sources

We report what the data shows — no forecasts, no investment advice. For local detail, see house prices by area and the monthly market report.