UK house prices rise 0.9% in the year to August to £273,000 as London falls 2.2%, official figures show

Average UK house prices rose 0.9% in the 12 months to August 2026 to £273,000, according to the UK House Price Index published by HM Land Registry and the ONS on 21 October, with London down 2.2% and the North East up 3.2%. With consumer price inflation at 3.5%, growth that slow means homes are falling in value in real terms, as higher fixed mortgage rates limit what buyers can borrow. For buyers, particularly in London and the South East, that points to more room to negotiate; for sellers, pricing against recent sold prices rather than last year's asking prices matters more than it did. The figures are provisional and run about two months behind the market, so they do not yet capture October's rate moves or anything in the 28 October Budget.