DATA: Nationwide reported UK house prices rose 1.7% in year to May 2026
They report this was lower than the 3.0% annual increase reported for April thanks to a 0.6% seasonally adjusted monthly fall – “the first monthly decline so far this year”.
DATA: Halifax reported UK house prices rose 0.5% in year to May 2026
They report(PDF) another -0.1% monthly fall while the annual rate increased from 0.4% the previous month. They also report “Northern Ireland continues to record the UK’s strongest annual growth at +7.8%” while prices fell 2.1% in the South East and 1.5% in London.
DATA(PDF): Zoopla reported house prices rose 1.5% in year to Apr 2026
They report “Sales agreed 1% ahead of last year despite buyer demand being down 10%, as committed home movers support sales” and “There are 6% fewer first-time buyer enquiries” while “those active are targeting homes worth £10,000 more than last year”.
DATA: BoE published quoted mortgage rate data for May 2026
The average quoted mortgage rate for a two-year fixed-rate mortgage at 75% loan-to-value fell from 5.14% in April to 4.92% in May, though this was still much higher than the 3.93% recorded in January. The average revert-to-rate was unchanged at 6.60%.
DATA: BoE published effective mortgage rate data for Apr 2026
They report the average rate on new advances (covering both purchase and remortgage) was 4.08%, up slightly from the 4.04% reported the previous month. The average rate on outstanding balances was unchanged at 3.93%.
DATA: BoE reported 65,945 approvals for purchase in Apr 2026
They report the number of mortgage approvals for house purchase was 3.1% higher than the previous month and 9.0% higher than the same month last year. Remortgage approvals were 46% higher in April when compared to the same month last year.
DATA: HMRC reported 101,030 residential transactions in Apr 2026
They report the number of transactions was 2.8% lower than the previous month but 53% higher than last year – though this is due to the post-stamp duty holiday lull last year.
DATA: HMRC published local level Stock of Properties data for 2025
The tables provide useful local level information on the council tax band, property type, and number of bedrooms. However, it still appears to affected by the lag in new homes being registered and therefore should not be used for calculating the change in dwelling stock.
DATA: UK Finance published later life mortgage lending data for Q1 2026
They report “There were 36,050 new loans advanced to older borrowers in Q1, down 4.8 per cent year on year” and “There were 5,300 new lifetime mortgages advanced in Q1, down 8 per cent from the same quarter a year earlier”.
DATA(PDF): IMLA published Intermediary Mortgage Market Tracker
They report “The average number of DIPs [Decision in Principle] is stable since the end of last year (-1)” but “The conversion rate from DIP to completion is slightly lower (-3) – out of 26 DIPs, 10 go through to completion”.
DATA: Scottish Gov published Housing Statistics 2025
They report “19,779 new homes were added to the housing stock in 2024–25” and “This was 628 fewer homes (a 3% decrease) than in 2023–24”. They also report “Nearly all the new housing supply came from new build homes (97%)”.
DATA: Scottish Gov published SHCS local authority level data
The release provides local authority level data from the Scottish House Condition Survey.
DATA: Scottish Gov published Landlord Register data for Apr 2026
The number of registered landlords fell by 2.3% and the number of registered properties fell by 1.3% with a sharp fall from the previous month.
DATA: Financial Market Expectations For BoE’s Bank Rate
The chart provides a summary for the expected future level of Bank Rate based on daily data. The One Year figure was 4.36% on the 3rd Jun compared to 4.23% on the 27th May.
DATA: New Build Energy Performance Certificates, England
This chart provides a summary of the number of EPCs on new build properties, a useful leading indicator for net additions. The 52-week rolling total was 210,033 for the week commencing 25th May, slightly higher than the 209,709 total for the previous week.
POLICY: Scottish Gov announced start of First Homes Fund
They announced “The first round of applications for a First Homes Fund will open by the end of June, providing first-time buyers with a £10,000 contribution towards a deposit on their first home” and “It is expected the first phase of the fund will support 2,000 households over the first 100 days of this Government and 50,000 over the course of this Parliament”.
REPORT: HCLG Committee published pre-legislative scrutiny report
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee published pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill.
REPORT: UK Finance published Household Finance Review
They report “In total, the provisional value of lending in 2026 through to May suggests activity is down about seven per cent, compared with the same period in 2025” and “Affordability pressures eased a little in Q1, but impact of conflict yet to feed through”.
REPORT: Resolution Foundation published Housing Outlook
They report “The growth of the PRS is a crucial part of Britain’s living standards story: it is the most expensive, least secure, and worst quality of the mainstream tenures. Private renters pay more per square metre for their housing and face a higher housing cost burden than mortgagors or social renters. But the impact on living standards extends beyond household finances, private renters are more likely than owners or social renters to live in damp and energy-inefficient homes, and one-in-six (16 per cent) say their housing situation stops them confidently planning for the future.”
REPORT: CaCHE reported on the private rented sector landlord conveyor
The “graphic article explores how landlords move into, through and out of the PRS over time, highlighting that landlord participation is often more dynamic and responsive to changing conditions than policy debates suggest”.
REPORT: Sheffield Uni on the PRS Non-Decent Index
The report introduces the Non-Decent Index, which “is a publicly available index designed to identify areas in England with a high number of private rented sector homes that fail the Decent Homes Standard”.
REPORT: HACT published Social Value in Social Housing report
They report “that more than £1.19 billion of social value was delivered by UK housing associations in 2025, supporting over 179,000 individual beneficiaries”.
REPORT: HBF reported on council tax for incomplete homes
They find “There is considerable inconsistency between local authorities in determining when a new build home is deemed complete for council tax purposes” and “Limited availability of empty property discounts”. As a result “Council tax liability is having a direct and widespread impact on SME home builders” and “The number of appeals to the Valuation Tribunal Service relating to Completion Notices has increased significantly in recent years”.
REPORT(PDF): LPDF & Turley published updated housing need calculations
The calculation of local authority housing need based on updated affordability and dwelling stock data using the standard method shows “All but three of England’s 296 local authorities receive a higher housing need figure”.
REPORT: GLA published London Housing Market Report
The report “summarises key trends and patterns in London’s housing market” and “covers topics including house prices, rents, sales and new supply”.
REPORT: JLL reported on fixing London’s new build market
They report “While supply-side challenges around viability, regulatory delays and higher finance costs are well documented, our latest research identifies a critical factor: weakening demand” and suggests “targeted stamp duty relief for new homes that could materially improve sales rates and unlock stalled developments across the capital”.
REPORT(PDF): BusinessLDN published Who Lives in Build-To-Rent London
The report “provides a snapshot in time of residents living in Build-to-Rent schemes in London, examining resident demographics including age, profession and average income, benchmarked against residents living in the private rented sector”. The most noticeable difference is the much higher proportion of students living in build-to-rent – around one-third of residents – while they account for under 10% of private rented sector residents.
REPORT: NAO reported on Royal Family residential property arrangements
The report “sets out the arrangements for residential accommodation for members of the Royal Family provided by [The Crown Estate] and the [Royal] Household.
NEWS: Savills revised house price forecasts for 2026
They revised their forecast for UK house prices from +2% to -2%.
CORPORATE: Watkin Jones published Half Year Results
They report “While market conditions remain challenging and continue to impact the pace of recovery, the long-term fundamentals of our end markets remain attractive”.
CORPORATE: Springfield Properties published Trading Update
The Scottish housebuilder reports “In private housing, there was strong growth in the second half of the year compared with the first half reflecting normal seasonality, an increase in average selling price and the changing housing mix, resulting in year-on-year growth in private housing revenue”.
Chart of the Week
Market expectations for Bank Rate fell back slightly in May, with quoted fixed-rate mortgage interest rates also falling in response. Bank of England data shows the average two-year fixed-rate fell back below 5%, down to 4.92% in May. However, the situation in the Middle East is volatile and it appears likely that rates will remain well above the sub-4% levels we saw at the beginning of the year. That raises the question of when we’ll start to see these higher quoted rates hit the actual rates on new advances. The latest data shows an increase in the average effective rate on new advances in April, but only to 4.08%. It may be a couple more months till we start seeing effective rates rising and that suggests a tough start to the autumn selling-season if mortgage rates stay elevated.
