£796,000 £1,146,201 -5.7%
£631 £42.4bn 16,694
Source: Dataloft by PriceHubble,Bank ofEngland,HMRC,ONS
FINELY BALANCED
The UK housing market is holding steady in the face of geopolitical uncertainty and elevated borrowing costs. Transactions are running in line with seasonal expectations, though with buyer numbers softer than a year ago, the outlook remains finely balanced.
INFLATION AND BORROWING COSTS
Inflation fell to 2.8% in the 12 months to April, its lowest level since March 2025, down from 3.3% in March¹. However, this improvement looks set to be short-lived as the fallout from the Middle East conflict continues, with motor fuel prices rising at their fastest pace since the Ukraine war. Inflation is forecast to reach 3.8% by the end of the year². The Bank of England is expected to hold the base rate at 3.75% later this month, as ongoing uncertainty continues to cloud the outlook. Despite this, mortgage lenders have trimmed their rates in recent weeks as they cautiously compete for business³, with Barclays the latest major lender to lower rates across a range of products.
STABLE PRICES
Average house prices across the UK held steady at £268,132 in March, unchanged from a year ago¹. Detached homes led price growth at 1.9%, closely followed by semi- detached at 1.8%, reflecting a continued post-pandemic appetite for space, privacy and outdoor living. Terraced homes saw more modest gains at 0.5%, while buyer demand for houses more broadly continued to outpace that for flats, which weakened by 5.3%, a trend that has characterised the market for much of the past few years⁴
In England and Wales, the average price of a prime market property is £1,146,201, softened by 5.7% year-on-year.
BUYER DEMAND
Sales agreed are running 1% ahead of last year despite buyer demand easing by 10%, with committed home movers continuing to support activity⁵. This softer demand picture is echoed by the RICS new buyer enquiries series, which returned a net balance of -34% in April, though this does
reflect a modest improvement on the -40% recorded the previous month. Mortgage approvals, an indicator of future demand, show steady resilience. There were 65,945 approvals in April, up 3% on March and roughly in line with the 5-year April average⁶. More sellers entering the market should help sustain sales volumes, though with the pool of active buyers still narrower than a year ago, affordability pressures weighing on confidence and many remaining cautious on price, the outlook remains delicate.
TRANSACTION LEVELS RESILIENT
Transaction numbers fell 3% in April, though they remain 53% higher than a year ago, reflecting the sharp drop in activity following changes to stamp duty thresholds in April 2025⁷ Transactions are running broadly in line with seasonal expectations although the longer-term impact of the Iran conflict on the housing market remains uncertain.
COASTAL APPEAL
While average asking prices across Britain have edged down 0.3% over the past year, coastal towns are proving resilient, with buyer demand for seaside living continuing to drive strong price growth in a number of locations⁸. Bootle in Merseyside leads the way with asking prices up 11% yearon-year, followed by Crosby and Penarth, both recording growth of 9%. With homes in many of these locations still priced below the national average, it is the less established coastal markets across the North West and Wales that are seeing the strongest momentum, as buyers seek out the seaside lifestyle in places that have previously flown under the radar.
£550,000
£758,252 -3.7%
£356
£543,000
£731,896 -1%
£384
£585,000
£771,915 -0.5%
£384
£489,000
£635,051 -0.2%
£336
£726,000
£967,666 -3.7%
£468
£927,000
£1,302,846 -4.5%
£567
£422,000
£566,491 -0.4%
£304
£517,000
£690,407 +0.3%
£356
£533,000
£696,644 -1.3%
£340
£805,000
£1,091,889 -2.5%
£531
£1,510,000
£2,385,107 -7.3%
£1,169
Source: Dataloft by PriceHubble,Land Registry.
Source: Dataloft by PriceHubble,Land Registry.
£278,242
£796,000
£1,146,201
£223,747
£706,000
£1,044,903
Source: Dataloft by PriceHubble,Land Registry.
£275,199
£659,000
£901,219
£435,222
£1,030,000
£1,489,680
£224,447
£663,000
£1,019,396
£290,577
£808,000
£1,159,355
Source: Dataloft by PriceHubble,Land Registry.
Source: Dataloft by PriceHubble,Land Registry.
Source: Dataloft by PriceHubble,Rightmove.