Plain-English answers on UK property.
How-to guides, common-question explainers, and translations of what just changed in the market. Sourced, dated, and written for the person actually doing the selling or buying.
The new 2.5% deposit scheme: what it means if you're selling
On 26 September 2026 the government announced Your First Home, a scheme letting first-time buyers in England buy a new-build home with a 2.5% deposit and a government-backed equity loan of up to 20%. For most people selling an existing home the direct effect is small, because the scheme only covers new builds, and its caps and start date will not be set until the Budget on 28 October.
What happens if my estate agent goes out of business?
Your sale does not depend on your estate agent staying in business. The contract is between you and your buyer, the deposit and completion money travel through the solicitors, and an agent's closure mainly affects marketing, communication and any fee you paid upfront.
Can I switch estate agent while my house is on the market?
Yes, you can switch estate agent while your house is on the market, and plenty of sellers do. The safe way is to check your tie-in and notice periods first, give notice in writing, and keep a list of the buyers your first agent introduced, so you never pay two fees for one sale.
Can my estate agent use AI to edit photos of my house?
Yes, your estate agent can edit photos of your house, including with AI, but the photos must not mislead buyers about the home. Tidying, brightening and labelled virtual staging are generally fine; removing walls, changing room sizes or hiding power lines is not.
A buyer wants to film my house at the viewing. Should I let them?
Usually yes, if they ask first: most buyers film a viewing to show a partner or remember the layout, and it is a sign of genuine interest. It is your home, so set the rule before the first viewing, ask your agent to enforce it, and keep keys, paperwork and family photos out of shot.
How do I know if my estate agent is doing enough?
Judge your agent on evidence, not on feelings: regular viewing feedback, offers confirmed in writing within two working days, a marketing plan they review with you, and a listing that is accurate and complete. If those are in place and interest is still thin, the issue is more often the price than the effort.
My buyer is losing patience with the delays. What should I do?
A buyer who is frustrated is still a buyer, and most delays in a sale are ordinary and fixable. Find out exactly where the hold-up sits, give your buyer a dated plan, and keep your own side of the file moving fast.
What is a digital property logbook, and will I need one?
A digital property logbook is a secure online record of a home's key information that stays with the property and passes from owner to owner. You do not need one to sell today, but the government plans to legislate for logbooks alongside compulsory sales packs before the end of this Parliament.
Lots of views on Rightmove but no viewings. What is wrong?
Plenty of online views with no viewing requests is one of the most common patterns in a sale, and it is fixable. It almost always means buyers are finding your home and then deciding against it on price or presentation, so the answer sits in the listing, not in the house.
Should I get a second opinion on my asking price?
Yes, if your home has been on the market for a few weeks with little interest, a second opinion on the price is a sensible, normal step. It costs nothing to ask, it does not change your current contract, and it tells you whether the price or something else is holding the sale back.
Should I get my sales pack ready before I list my house?
Yes, preparing your legal and property information before you list is one of the most useful things a seller can do in 2026. It is voluntary for now, but the government plans to make a sales pack compulsory, and buyers already say upfront information makes them more confident to offer.
Prices rose in September, but only 6 in 10 homes find a buyer
On 21 September 2026 Rightmove reported that average asking prices rose 0.7% to £367,440, the first monthly rise since May. The catch is the competition: the number of homes for sale is at a 12-year high for the time of year, and on average only 61% of homes that come to market find a buyer.
My buyer wants repairs done before exchange. Should I agree?
Not always, and not without looking at what the survey actually found. A repair request after a survey is a normal stage of a sale, and the fair answer is usually one of three: fix a specific item properly and prove it, adjust the price instead, or say no to items that were obvious at the viewing.
My buyer is still viewing other houses. Should I worry?
Not on its own. In England and Wales nobody is bound until contracts are exchanged, so some buyers keep a back-up in view, and the real test of your buyer is what they have spent and instructed since the offer, not where they spend their Saturdays.
Basildon's 2021 buyers are up £52,800 as their five-year fixes end
Every one of the 3,370 homes bought in the Borough of Basildon in 2021 is worth more today on the local price index, with a typical gain of £52,785, ValuQ analysis of Land Registry sales finds. The exception to the comfort is flats: the typical 2021 Basildon flat is up just £5,388, as five-year fixes from that year end and the Bank of England weighs a rate rise.
Two in five flats bought in 2021 are worth less as fixes end
Nearly two in five flats bought in England and Wales in 2021 are worth less today than their owners paid, according to ValuQ analysis of 1,086,507 Land Registry sales, while fewer than one house in a hundred is. Those 2021 buyers are now coming off five-year fixed rates just as the Bank of England weighs its next rise.
What is the TA6 form, and what changed in 2026?
The TA6 is the Law Society's Property Information Form: the questionnaire a seller in England and Wales fills in so the buyer's solicitor knows about boundaries, disputes, alterations, flood risk, services and anything else that affects the home. Since 30 March 2026 every sale uses the new 6th edition, which is shorter than the 2024 version and allows more 'Not known' answers.
My buyer wants to pay a 5% deposit on exchange. Should I agree?
This is a common request, especially from first-time buyers who have put most of their savings into the mortgage deposit, and agreeing to it is often fine. The safe way to say yes is to accept 5% on the day while your solicitor keeps the contract saying the buyer owes the full 10% if they fail to complete, and to check your own onward purchase does not need the missing money.
My buyer wants to come back and measure up. Should I let them?
Yes, in almost every case: a buyer who wants to measure for sofas, curtains or a kitchen is usually a buyer picturing their life in your home, which is a good sign. Say yes to one arranged, accompanied visit at a time that suits you, and keep an eye on whether the legal side is moving at the same pace.
Rates are rising. Can my buyer's mortgage offer be pulled?
A lender raising its rates does not cancel a mortgage offer it has already issued: the rate written into your buyer's offer stays as it is for as long as the offer is valid. The sales that feel the repricing are the ones where the buyer has not yet applied, so the question that matters is how far through the mortgage process your buyer actually is.
What are swap rates, and why do they push mortgage rates up?
Swap rates are the wholesale cost lenders pay to fix the interest they owe for two or five years, and they are the main number behind the price of a fixed-rate mortgage. That is why average fixed rates have risen by almost a full percentage point since March 2026 while the Bank of England's Bank Rate has not moved from 3.75% since July.
My buyer is using a Lifetime ISA. Will it delay my sale?
A buyer using a Lifetime ISA rarely delays a sale, as long as their conveyancer requests the money early and the agreed price is £450,000 or less. The rules only bite when the request is left late, the purchase price goes over the cap, or completion drifts beyond the time limits HMRC sets.
House prices now falling in more than 1 in 4 areas of Britain
On 16 September 2026 the official UK House Price Index showed average prices up 1.4% in the year to July, but ValuQ analysis of the same data found prices falling in 97 of 349 local areas in Great Britain, up from 72 a month earlier. The national figure is holding up while the number of places going backwards has jumped.
My buyer wants to wait until after the Budget. What should I do?
A buyer asking to wait until after the Budget on 28 October 2026 is common this autumn and does not mean your sale is failing: 27% of buyers in a September survey said they were pausing for it. The safe response is to agree a firm date, keep both solicitors working through the wait, and judge your buyer by what they have spent rather than what they say.
My buyer pulled out. Can I get my costs back?
Usually not: in England and Wales a buyer can pull out at any point before exchange of contracts without owing the seller anything, unless you both signed a separate agreement such as a reservation agreement. The good news is that most sellers lose less than they fear, because the largest selling costs are only paid when a sale completes.
My buyer pulled out after the survey. Can I see the report?
Losing a buyer after the survey is one of the most common ways a UK sale ends, and it is a setback you can recover from. You have no legal right to see the buyer's survey, but you can ask for it through your agent, and what it found is worth more to your next sale than the weeks you lost.
My cash buyer is messaging me directly. Should I reply?
A buyer who messages you directly is usually keen rather than crooked, and a friendly reply does no harm. The safe rule is to keep the conversation light and send anything about price, money, dates or documents back through your agent and solicitor.
Offers over or guide price: what should I list my house at?
An offers over price tells buyers the figure is your floor, while a guide price tells them it is roughly what you expect, with room to talk. Either way, the label matters far less than whether the number underneath it matches what your home will actually sell for.
Buyer wants to exchange and complete same day. Should I agree?
A same-day exchange and completion is a normal request, and it can work well, but it moves all of the risk onto moving day. Agree only when the buyer has already committed their money, the paperwork is finished and nothing in your own move depends on a contract that is not yet signed; otherwise ask to exchange a few days earlier on the same completion date.
My estate agent asked for my lowest price. Should I tell them?
It is a normal question and a sensible agent asks it, but you do not need to hand over your exact walk-away figure to get a good negotiation. Give your agent a target price and the reasons behind it, instruct them in writing to pass on every offer and never hint to a buyer what you would accept, and keep the final number for yourself.
What is a completion statement when selling a house?
A completion statement is the document your solicitor sends before completion showing exactly where the sale money goes: the sale price, less your mortgage redemption figure, the estate agent's fee, legal costs and any other deductions, with the balance that will be paid to you. Check every line against your paperwork before you approve it, because it is the last chance to catch a mistake before the money moves.
Detached homes sell at a loss 60% more often than semis
Detached houses bought in the 2021 to 2023 boom have been selling below their purchase price 14.9% of the time, against 9.1% for semi-detached homes, according to ValuQ analysis of 78,815 matched Land Registry sales. The gap holds in every region of England and Wales, and it widens sharply above £450,000.
In Basildon, a losing sale costs a detached owner £41,750
When a Basildon detached home bought in the 2021 to 2023 boom sold below its purchase price, the owner gave up a median of £41,750, against £5,000 for a terraced home in the same position. ValuQ matched 496 Basildon sales in Land Registry records, and one in five detached resales went backwards while fewer than one in eleven semis and terraces did.
What's the best day and time to hold house viewings?
Saturday morning is when Britain views homes, and 11am is the single busiest hour of the week. Figures published on 11 September 2026 show the five busiest viewing slots in the country are all on a Saturday, which makes your Saturday diary the most valuable thing you and your agent control.
My buyer wants a reservation agreement. Should I sign?
Being asked for a reservation agreement is usually a good sign, because a buyer who is willing to put money behind their word is a buyer who intends to complete. It is still a legal contract that binds you as tightly as it binds them, so the honest answer is yes in principle and not until your own solicitor has read it in practice.
My deeds don't match my fence. Will that stop my sale?
Almost certainly not, because the plan on your title was never designed to show the exact line of your boundary. Nearly every registered boundary in England and Wales is what the law calls a general boundary, which fixes the rough position on purpose and leaves the precise line undecided.
Buyer demand improved again. Fewer homes are queueing behind it.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors published its August survey on 10 September 2026, and it shows buyer enquiries improving for a fifth month running while the supply of homes lining up behind them is thinning. If you are weighing up an autumn sale, that combination matters more to your timing than the headline price number.
I've had two offers on my house. Which one do I take?
Take the offer most likely to reach completion, not the one with the biggest number on it, because a sale that collapses in November costs you more than the few thousand pounds you were holding out for. The way to judge that is to compare the two buyers on their position, their funding and their timing, and to ask your agent for proof of all three before you decide.
I'm on a cheap fixed rate. Do I lose it if I sell?
Usually not, because most UK residential mortgages can be ported, which means moving your existing rate and lender onto your new home rather than paying it off and starting again. Porting is not automatic though: your lender reassesses your income and the new property, and anything you borrow on top sits on a second rate at today's prices.
Small-deposit lending hit a 2008 high. What it means for sellers
On 8 September 2026 the Bank of England reported that 8.4% of new mortgage lending in the second quarter went to buyers borrowing more than 90% of a property's value, the highest share since the second quarter of 2008. For a seller, that means the pool of people who can afford your home is wider than it was a year ago, and more of those buyers are relying on the lender's valuation to get over the line.
My house sale is dragging on. Where is it actually stuck?
A slow sale is rarely one big failure. It is almost always one stage quietly holding up everything behind it, and research published by Rightmove on 9 September 2026 puts the legal work behind 37% of the biggest hold-ups, more than double the next cause on the list.
We're waiting for probate. How long before we can sell?
Most grants of probate arrive faster than families expect. In the most recent published court figures the median wait from application to grant was about two weeks and the average about five, and the long waits people warn you about are nearly always applications that were stopped for missing information.
Complaints about new homes tripled. What it means if you own one
On 7 September 2026 the New Homes Ombudsman Service reported that formal complaints from new build buyers rose from 593 in 2024/25 to 1,802 in 2025/26, a rise of 204%. If you own a new build and are thinking of selling, two things decide where you stand: the warranty, which attaches to the building, and the complaint window, which runs from the day you bought.
No viewings in the first week. Is that normal?
Yes, a quiet first week is normal, and on its own it tells you almost nothing about whether your house will sell. The average home in Britain took 64 days to find a buyer in September 2026, according to Rightmove, so seven days is roughly the first tenth of a normal search, the part where buyers are still saving the listing rather than booking a visit.
My flat has a Section 20 major works bill. Can I sell?
Yes, you can sell a flat while a Section 20 consultation is running, and leaseholders do it every week. What decides the sale is not the notice itself but who pays the bill, and that is settled by agreement between you and your buyer before exchange, usually through a retention or a price adjustment.
Lloyds says house prices fell. Nationwide says they rose.
On 7 September 2026 Lloyds reported that UK house prices in August were 0.4% lower than a year earlier, the first annual fall its index has recorded since November 2023. Nationwide, measuring the same month, reported prices 1.6% higher, so the two lender indices point in opposite directions for the same month.
My buyer says prices are falling. Should I accept less?
A buyer quoting a falling house price index at you is negotiating, not reporting, and you do not have to answer a national average with a local discount. Ask which homes near you have sold for less, because if the evidence does not exist on your street the argument does not apply to your house.
How long do I give my buyer before I remarket my house?
There is no legal clock, so the honest answer is that you give a buyer as long as they keep making progress and no longer. Judge them on milestones rather than weeks, and if a buyer misses two milestones in a row with no explanation, that is the point to talk to your agent about going back on.
The worst house on the best street is worth a tenth of what it looks like
Buying the cheapest home on your street appears to beat buying the dearest by 15.2 percentage points of price growth, worth about £31,000 on a typical Essex resale. ValuQ measured it on 133,764 resales without letting one sale price do two jobs, and the gap falls to 1.6 points.
Your home gained £5,000 this year. Your buyer can borrow £19,600 less.
The average home in England was worth £5,185 more in June 2026 than a year earlier. In the six months to July, the buyer for that same home lost £19,634 of borrowing power, because quoted mortgage rates climbed while the Bank Rate never moved.
A Basildon buyer's budget fell £22,400 since January. One in five homes went with it.
A Basildon buyer with a £36,000 deposit and £1,775 a month to spend could reach a £360,000 home in January. On July's mortgage rates that same buyer stops at £337,600, and 212 of the homes that sold across the borough last year, one in five of everything they could previously afford, sit in the gap.
A rate rise is back on the table. What it means for sellers
On 17 September 2026 the Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75%, but three of its nine policymakers voted for a rise and the Bank warned it stands ready to act, with inflation at 3.1% and forecast to pass 4% early next year. Lenders have already moved, pushing the average two-year fix to 5.73%, so the rate your buyer can get is rising even while Bank Rate stands still.
Should I sell before the Budget on 28 October?
For almost every seller, the answer is that the Budget on 28 October 2026 should not decide when you sell, because you could not complete before it even if you listed today. The useful move is to separate what has actually been announced from what is only being rumoured, and then decide on your own timing.
My buyer is bringing a builder to view again. Should I worry?
A buyer who brings a builder back is spending their own time and usually their own money on your house, which makes them more committed than most, not less. The thing to prepare for is not the visit itself, it is the conversation about numbers that often follows it.
More than a third of auction homes did not sell in July
On 3 September 2026, figures from the Essential Information Group showed that 64.4% of residential lots offered at UK property auctions in July found a buyer, down from 69.6% in July 2025. More than a third of the homes entered into an auction that month came back unsold.
My viewings stopped when the schools went back. Is that normal?
This is one of the most predictable quiet spells in the selling year, and it usually says more about the calendar than about your house. Buyer attention dips in the first weeks of the school term and then returns, so the move in early September is to read the numbers and hold your nerve, not to cut your price.
My solicitor isn't replying. What can I actually do?
Research published on 3 September 2026 found that when a home move is delayed and the mover blames someone, half of them blame the conveyancer, so the silence you are sitting in is a well-worn part of the process. In most cases it means your file is queued behind other files rather than going wrong, and the way to change that is to stop chasing by email and start making written, dated requests to a named person.
Mortgage approvals fell to a two-year low in July
On 1 September 2026 the Bank of England reported that 56,053 mortgages were approved for house purchase in July, the fewest since January 2024 and down from 58,215 in June. Interest in homes has not gone away, but the group of buyers who can borrow enough to act on it has thinned, so the strength of the buyer you accept now matters more than the number of viewings you count.
My buyer has a mortgage in principle. Is that enough?
A mortgage in principle is a good sign and it is worth asking for, but it is not the lender promising money on your home. Treat it as the start of your checks on a buyer rather than the end of them, and the rest of this explains what to check next.
My agent hasn't sent any viewing feedback. What now?
No law sets a deadline for viewing feedback, but if your agent belongs to The Property Ombudsman, its code says they must record feedback and pass it to you within a timescale you have agreed. So the fix is rarely a row: it is agreeing that timescale in writing and then holding them to it.
House prices rose in August. Asking prices fell.
On 1 September 2026, Nationwide reported that UK house prices were up 0.2% on the month and 1.6% higher than a year ago, at an average of £275,465. Two weeks earlier, Rightmove reported the biggest August fall in new asking prices for eight years, down 2.0% to an average of £364,999.
Can I still move by Christmas if I list now?
On the average timeline, no. Rightmove's 21 September 2026 figures put a typical sale at 64 days to find a buyer and a further 150 days to complete, so a home listed today would, on the averages, complete in late April 2027; a Christmas move is still possible, but only for a sale that finds a buyer quickly and has its legal work ready before the offer arrives.
My agent wants best and final offers. Should I?
Best and final offers is a deadline your agent sets for every interested buyer to put forward one last offer by a fixed time. It is worth running when you have two or more buyers who have each shown real commitment, and worth avoiding when you have one keen buyer and a handful of maybes.
Essex homes are being valued on the thinnest sales evidence in 30 years
Fewer than one Essex home in ten sold in 2025 had three recent sales of its own property type in its own postcode to be valued against. In 2007 it was nearly one in four.
Buyer searches are at a 12-month high. Where are the offers?
On 27 August 2026, Zoopla reported that buyer searches across the UK are 7% higher than a year ago, the strongest annual rise in twelve months. Agreed sales are still running 6% below last year, so the interest returning to the market has not yet turned into offers.
My agent wants to hold an open house. Should I say yes?
An open house is a single block of time, usually two or three hours on a weekend, when your agent shows your home to several buyers in succession instead of booking separate appointments. Saying yes is a reasonable decision, and the way you keep control of it is to set the terms before the date goes in the diary.
My buyer's lender is holding money back. What happens now?
A mortgage retention is when your buyer's lender approves the loan but holds back part of it until named repairs have been carried out and signed off. The mortgage has not been refused and the sale is not over, but a cost has landed on the table and you and your buyer now have to decide between you who carries it.
One in seven homes sold within two years goes for less than it cost
Of the 49,996 homes in England and Wales that were bought and then sold again within two years, and completed between April 2023 and March 2026, 14.9% sold for less than the owner paid. Hold the same home for three years or more and that figure falls to 6.5%, and past ten years it is 3.1%.
Basildon punishes the quick seller and rewards the patient one
Of 102 Basildon homes bought and sold again inside two years, 23.5% went for less than the owner paid, against 14.9% across England and Wales. Hold a Basildon home for ten years or more and the loss rate falls to 1.0%, which is a third of the national figure.
Only half the homes that left the market in July had sold
On 28 August 2026, market analyst Chris Watkin reported that 51.3% of the homes that left estate agents' books in July exchanged and completed, while around 49% came off the market without selling, against a seven year average of 57.6% that sell. August figures published on 15 September show more listings converting to sales but agreed sales still down on last year, so pricing remains what separates the homes that sell from the ones that come off unsold.
Should I complete on a Friday when I sell my house?
A Friday completion is the normal choice and it works for most people, but it carries one risk the other weekdays do not: if the money moves late, you lose the whole weekend rather than an afternoon. Pick Friday if your chain wants it, and protect yourself by agreeing a completion time, keeping your solicitor's deadlines in front of you, and never booking removals before contracts are exchanged.
My empty house will not sell. Will I pay double council tax?
In England you can be charged an empty homes premium once a property has been empty and substantially unfurnished for a year, which doubles the council tax bill. A property that is genuinely being marketed for sale is protected by a 12 month exception, so the question is not whether you are safe, it is when your 12 months runs out.
One Essex home sold at £250,500 in eleven years. Here is why.
Until December 2014 stamp duty was charged on the whole purchase price, so a home at £250,001 cost the buyer £5,000 more tax than one at £250,000. New ValuQ analysis of 1,032,346 Essex, Southend and Thurrock sales finds that across the eleven years to that date, 4.73 homes sold in the £15,000 below the line for every one above it, against 1.14 at ten price points carrying no threshold. One year after the rule changed the ceiling was gone, and it has not come back.
My buyer says an online estimate values my house lower
A buyer holding up an online estimate is one of the most common price challenges sellers meet, and that number is not a valuation of your home. It is a computer's best guess from past sold prices, so treat it as the opening of a conversation rather than a figure you have to match.
My buyer's survey flagged subsidence. What happens now?
A survey flagging possible subsidence is alarming to read, and in most cases it is a request for further investigation rather than a finding that your house is moving. Fewer than 5 per cent of affected properties ever need underpinning, so the next step is a specialist opinion, not a panic sale.
Should I get a survey on my own house before I sell?
A pre-sale survey is a condition report you commission on your own home before it goes on the market, and it is worth paying for when your property is older, altered, or has something a buyer will question. It costs between about £400 and £1,500 and its real value is removing surprises from the one stage where more than a quarter of UK sales collapse.
My buyer wants money off because mortgage rates rose
A buyer asking for money off after a rate move is one of the most common renegotiations in the market right now, and it does not mean your sale is lost. Before you talk about money at all, ask them one question: when did they get the mortgage quote their offer was based on?
A house on my street just listed cheaper than mine
A neighbour listing below you is uncomfortable, and on its own it tells you almost nothing about what your home is worth. An asking price is a question somebody is putting to the market, not an answer the market has given.
Should I part-exchange my house with a developer?
Part exchange trades your current home to a housebuilder as part of the payment for one of their new homes, which removes the chain and the risk of a fall-through. You pay for that certainty in the price, because developers typically offer below what your home would fetch on the open market.
House price growth slowed to 2%. What it means for sellers
On 19 August 2026 the Office for National Statistics reported that the average UK home was worth £272,000 in June, 2.0% more than a year earlier, down from 3.0% annual growth in May. Growth has now slowed for a second month running, and the gap between regions is wider than the national figure suggests.
How do I sell my shared ownership home?
Selling a shared ownership home works, and the process is fixed rather than difficult, so most of the stress comes from not knowing the running order. You start with a RICS valuation, your landlord then gets an exclusive window called the nomination period to find a buyer from its own waiting list, and only when that window closes can you bring in your own estate agent.
Can I sell the house if my ex won't agree?
Not on your own, because every registered owner has to sign the transfer, so neither of you can sell the other out of the picture. You are not stuck though: most of these end in a negotiated sale or a buy-out, and where they genuinely cannot be settled a court has the power to order the sale.
Inflation rose to 2.9%. What it means if you're selling
On 19 August 2026 the Office for National Statistics reported that UK inflation rose to 2.9% in the year to July, up from 2.6% in June. The rise was expected, it sits on the Bank of England's own forecast path, and by itself it does not change whether now is a sensible time to sell.
My buyer's mortgage offer is about to expire. What now?
An expiring mortgage offer is one of the most common late-stage wobbles in a sale, and on its own it very rarely ends the deal. Most lenders will either extend the existing offer or issue a fresh one, and the usual cost is a few weeks of delay rather than a collapsed sale.
My buyer hasn't sold their own home. Should I accept?
An offer from someone who has not yet sold their own home is not a bad offer, it is an unfinished one. Whether to accept comes down to a question you can actually answer: how far along is their sale, and what have they already spent to prove it.
Essex homes bought new resell £20,000 behind their neighbours
An Essex home bought new from a developer grows 10.8 log points less than an identical second-hand purchase in the same district and year, a typical £20,272 of price growth, and about half of that gap is the price of the home having been new.
Modern method of auction: should I sell my house that way?
You can sell through the modern method of auction, and more sellers are doing it: purchases by this route rose 14.5% in the year to August 2026. It is usually free for you as the seller because the buyer pays a reservation fee instead, and that fee is the thing to understand before you agree to anything.
Can I sell my house if I owe more than it's worth?
Yes, you can sell, but the sale has to clear the mortgage, so if the price does not cover what you owe you have to make up the difference. Most people in this position are not as far under as they fear, and the first job is to replace the worry with two real numbers.
My property searches expired before completion. What now?
Expired searches are an administrative problem, not a sign your sale is failing, and they are fixed either by reordering the search or by an indemnity policy costing under £150. It is happening more often because the average move now takes 216 days, which is longer than a local authority search stays valid.
Asking prices fell 2% in August. Rightmove cut its forecast
On 17 August 2026, Rightmove reported that the average asking price on a newly listed home in Britain fell 2% in August, down £7,360 to £364,999. That is the steepest August fall since 2018, and Rightmove cut its own forecast for the year from a 2% rise to somewhere between flat and a 2% fall.
My fixed rate ends before my house sells. What now?
You have options, and none of them require you to accept a sale you are unhappy with. The usual choice is a short new deal with no early repayment charge, or a spell on your lender's standard variable rate, and the right answer depends on how far along your sale actually is.
My house won't sell. Should I rent it out instead?
Letting is a reasonable plan B, but it is a different job with different rules, and you cannot simply hand the keys over and wait for the market to improve. You need your lender's permission first, and the tax position changes in ways that quietly cost money later, so work through both before you take the board down.
Home sales jump 8% the month a two-year mortgage deal ends
Sales of the same home rise 8.25 per cent between the 23rd and the 24th month of ownership, the biggest step at any anniversary in the first ten years, and there is nothing like it at three, four or five years.
Revealed: the towns where the priciest homes are the ones losing money
In 102 of the 107 English and Welsh districts ValuQ could measure reliably, houses in the most expensive quarter of their local market resold at a loss more often than houses in the cheapest quarter. These are not mansions: the typical top-quarter house in the analysis cost £425,000.
Basildon's priciest homes gained half as much as its cheapest
Basildon houses bought since 2019 in the cheapest quarter of the local market earned 5.05% a year before they were sold again, while houses in the most expensive quarter earned 2.69%. The top end is the slower half of the town's market, but it is holding up far better than the top end of Brentwood or Chelmsford.
Arrears fell again. The forced-seller wave hasn't come.
On 13 August 2026, UK Finance reported that homeowner mortgage arrears had fallen for an eighth consecutive quarter and that repossessions were down 14% on the same quarter last year. If you are selling into a slow market and a buyer is leaning on you for a reduction because sellers are supposedly desperate, the lending data does not support that picture.
Should I extend my house or sell and move?
Extend if the only thing wrong with your home is that it is one room too small, and if your street's ceiling price leaves room for the spend to come back. Move if the problem is the location, the plot or the size class, because building work cannot change any of those.
Should I sell my house first, or buy the next one first?
In most cases, sell first. Having a sale agreed makes you a proceedable buyer, which is what gets your offers taken seriously and tells you what your real budget is, whereas buying first without a sale agreed tends to weaken you in both transactions at the same time.
More homes are coming to market. Buyers haven't followed.
When this article was first published, the flow of homes coming to market had started to recover while buyer numbers sat still. The August 2026 RICS survey, published on 10 September 2026, changed that picture: buyer enquiries have now improved for a fifth month in a row, and it is the pipeline of homes behind them that has started to thin instead.
Do I have to tell buyers about a neighbour dispute?
Yes. The standard property information form your solicitor sends you asks directly about disputes and complaints involving your property or one nearby, past as well as present, and answering it inaccurately can unravel the sale even after completion.