The average price of a home in Britain rose by £5,000 in the year to June, according to official figures from HM Land Registry, even as the pace of growth slowed sharply.
House prices increased by 2 per cent year-on-year in June, down from annual growth of 4 per cent in April and 3 per cent in May. Prices rose by just 0.1 per cent between May and June this year, compared with a 1 per cent increase over the same period in 2025, meaning growth in early summer 2026 has been weaker than a year earlier.
Richard Donnell, executive director of research at Zoopla, said housing sales market activity had been hit hard over the summer by higher mortgage rates, which had reduced buying power and slowed price inflation.
"However people can't put decisions on hold indefinitely and we expect a rebound in activity in September and October with some early signs of a return of buyers," Donnell said.
HM Land Registry publishes the official house price index for the UK, while Zoopla is one of the country's largest property listings websites.
Prices rise more in the North of England
Prices in the North West and North East of England rose by 4.7 per cent and 4.3 per cent respectively over the year to June. In Westmorland and Furness, a local authority area in the North West, prices climbed 11.1 per cent over the same period.
London prices fall sharply in Westminster
The picture was very different in London, where the average property fell in value by 2.5 per cent over the past year. The steepest drop came in the City of Westminster local authority in central London, where prices fell 25.4 per cent in the year to June, down from £1.145 million to £854,000, a fall of £291,000 in just 12 months.
Signs of a London market turnaround
Despite the annual fall, the typical home in the capital rose in value by £9,000 in the month of June alone, leading some to suggest London's property market may be turning a corner.
Jonathan Hopper, chief executive of buying agent Garrington Property Finders, said property values in the capital had fallen on an annual basis for 10 months in a row, but there were increasing signs that prices had finally bottomed out.
"While one month of Land Registry data does not a summer make, we may have reached a tipping point as tactical buyers who'd been waiting for the right moment to strike return to the London market," Hopper said.
Outlook for southern England
Hopper said he was also more optimistic about the market across the South West and East of England, where prices remain below where they were four years ago.
He said markets in the capital and much of southern England were still awash with supply, leaving buyers spoilt for choice and able to negotiate hard on price.
"However as the imbalance between demand and supply begins to equalise, buyers in the south will start to experience something they've largely been spared for much of this year - competition," Hopper said.
