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UK house price growth slows to 2.0 per cent as private rents accelerate to 3.7 per cent, highest since December 2025

Week ending 20 August 2026 · published 20 August 2026

ONS bulletin: house price growth slows; private rents accelerate

The ONS published its Private rent and house prices, UK bulletin on 19 August 2026. The average UK house price stood at 272,000 pounds, up 2.0 per cent year-on-year in June, down from a revised 3.0 per cent in May, with a 0.1 per cent monthly rise. The ONS attributed the slowdown to weaker growth in early summer 2026 than in 2025, when prices rebounded after the April 2025 Stamp Duty Land Tax changes. Average UK monthly private rent reached 1,393 pounds, up 3.7 per cent year-on-year in July, up from 3.3 per cent in June and the highest annual rate since December 2025.

Country and regional breakdown

Country-level prices for June stood at 293,000 pounds in England (+1.8 per cent year-on-year), 213,000 pounds in Wales (+1.8 per cent), 195,000 pounds in Scotland (+2.3 per cent) and 202,000 pounds in Northern Ireland for Q2 2026 (+9.2 per cent, highest since Q4 2022). The North West had the strongest English growth at +4.7 per cent. London fell 2.5 per cent year-on-year, the tenth consecutive annual decline. On rents, England averaged 1,451 pounds (+3.8 per cent), Wales 843 pounds (+4.5 per cent), Scotland 1,016 pounds (+1.7 per cent) and Northern Ireland 875 pounds (+2.3 per cent to May 2026, the lowest in over five years). The North East was the highest-rising English region at +6.3 per cent and the South East the lowest at +2.9 per cent, replacing London as the slowest.

HM Land Registry confirms the UK reading

HM Land Registry published the UK House Price Index for June 2026 on 19 August, confirming the ONS provisional reading at 272,000 pounds (+2.0 per cent year-on-year, +0.1 per cent month-on-month). London averaged 554,000 pounds, down 2.5 per cent year-on-year but up 1.0 per cent month-on-month. By property type in England, detached homes averaged 475,000 pounds (+2.0 per cent), semi-detached 291,000 pounds (+3.2 per cent), terraced 246,000 pounds (+2.8 per cent) and flats or maisonettes 219,000 pounds (-2.3 per cent). The next release, the July 2026 UK HPI, is scheduled for 09:30 on Wednesday 16 September 2026.

Mortgage rates and Bank Rate

Rightmove updated its weekly mortgage-rate tracker on 20 August 2026. The average 2-year fixed rate stood at 5.07 per cent, down 0.02 percentage points on the week but up 0.58 percentage points on the year, and the average 5-year fixed at 5.10 per cent. The lowest advertised 2-year fixed rate was 4.39 per cent. Property expert Colleen Babcock said Bank Rate remained at 3.75 per cent and that average mortgage rates had risen over recent weeks as Middle East tensions escalated. The Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75 per cent at its 30 July 2026 decision; the next MPC decision is scheduled for 17 September 2026.

Lender indices and regulator action

The Lloyds House Price Index (formerly the Halifax House Price Index until the July 2026 rebrand) remained on its July print of 299,253 pounds, with annual growth of 0.1 per cent. The Lloyds August 2026 print is expected around 7 September 2026. Nationwide was still on its July reading of 277,542 pounds with annual growth of 1.8 per cent. The spread between the three indices remains wide: Lloyds +0.1 per cent, Nationwide +1.8 per cent and ONS +2.0 per cent. The Regulator of Social Housing added Rentplus Homes Limited, a Milton Keynes provider with fewer than 1,000 social housing units, to its gradings under review list on 18 August 2026, the fourth RSH enforcement or review action against a small landlord in 2026.

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.