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Nationwide growth slows to 1.8 per cent in July as MPC minutes show a hardening split on Bank Rate

Week ending 6 August 2026 · published 6 August 2026

Nationwide slows to 1.8 per cent in July

Nationwide reported annual UK house price growth of 1.8 per cent in July 2026, down from 2.2 per cent in June, with prices up 0.1 per cent on the month and the average price at 277,542 pounds. The lender's headline read "House price growth remained subdued in July", and the reading took annual growth back below 2 per cent after June's 2.2 per cent. The Lloyds (formerly Halifax) House Price Index landing page was still on its June 2026 release as of 6 August; the July print, scheduled for around 7 August, would be the first monthly reading published under the Lloyds name. No fresh Rightmove or ONS print appeared this week.

MPC minutes detail the 6 to 3 split

Minutes of the Bank of England's 30 July decision, at which Bank Rate was held at 3.75 per cent, showed a 6 to 3 vote. Megan Greene, Catherine Mann and Huw Pill voted to raise the rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4 per cent; the dissenters were "less reassured on the underlying disinflationary process" and concerned that the tightening in financial conditions from the Middle East conflict could reverse. The July 2026 Monetary Policy Report was published alongside the minutes. The next decision is scheduled for 17 September 2026.

Index readings, mortgages and rents

The Lloyds House Price Index recorded 299,330 pounds in June, up 0.2 per cent month-on-month and 0.6 per cent year-on-year, with first-time-buyer annual growth at 0.8 per cent and the average FTB property at 240,433 pounds. Rightmove's July asking-price index showed newly listed prices falling 1.0 per cent to 372,359 pounds, with available supply close to a 12-year seasonal high. The ONS UK House Price Index put the average transaction price at 271,000 pounds in May, up 2.7 per cent year-on-year, down from a revised 3.9 per cent in April on a base effect from the April 2025 SDLT changes. London recorded its ninth consecutive annual fall at minus 3.7 per cent. 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. The ONS Price Index of Private Rents recorded average UK monthly private rent at 1,388 pounds in June, up 3.3 per cent year-on-year. England averaged 1,446 pounds (up 3.4 per cent), Scotland 1,012 pounds (up 1.3 per cent), Wales 843 pounds (up 4.9 per cent) and Northern Ireland 877 pounds (up 2.9 per cent, April). The North East led English rent inflation at 6.3 per cent.

Reorganisation, regeneration and mayoral funding

On 4 August 2026 the government published 14 Secretary-of-State decision letters on local-government reorganisation, covering areas from Kent and Medway to Nottinghamshire and Nottingham, Warwickshire and Worcestershire among others, converting the 16 July announcement into binding decisions. The cumulative effect is 134 councils streamlined into 38 unitary authorities across a large part of England. On 6 August 2026, Homes England confirmed a 27.7 million pound investment in the Sheepfolds neighbourhood in Riverside Sunderland, supporting delivery of over 350 new homes, alongside a 10 million pound prior investment by North East Mayor Kim McGuinness. On 30 July 2026, the Prime Minister launched an income-tax devolution package for English mayors; the release cited West Yorkshire's Housing Investment Fund of up to 334 million pounds as an example of devolved funding unlocking land and stalled sites. Next week's calendar includes the Lloyds House Price Index July print around 7 August, the Rightmove August index around 17 August and the ONS bulletin covering June prices and July rents on Wednesday 19 August.

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.