UK house price inflation slows to 1.4% as rents accelerate

The average UK house price was £273,000 in July 2026, 1.4% higher than a year earlier, according to the UK House Price Index published by HM Land Registry and the Office for National Statistics on 16 September 2026. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, prices rose 0.7% between June and July 2026; on a seasonally adjusted basis they fell 0.2%. The index stood at 104.5, where January 2023 equals 100. These are provisional estimates and are likely to be revised.

The primary source for this update is the UK House Price Index for July 2026, published by HM Land Registry and the Office for National Statistics, with the rent figures from the ONS private rent and house prices bulletin for September 2026 published on the same morning.

The same morning, the ONS reported that average private rents in the UK rose to £1,400 a month in August 2026, up 3.8% over 12 months, while house price inflation slowed for a third consecutive month.

What changed

Annual UK house price inflation slowed to 1.4% in the 12 months to July 2026, from a revised 1.5% in the 12 months to June 2026, and 2.0% before that. It is the third consecutive month of slowing. The average price itself rose slightly, from £272,000 in June to £273,000 in July, which is £4,000 higher than a year earlier.

Behind the headline, the regional picture diverged sharply:

• England: £293,479, up 1.1% annually.
• Wales: £215,037, up 2.6%.
• Scotland: £196,349, up 2.3%.
• Northern Ireland: £202,487, up 9.2% in the year to Quarter 2 (April to June) 2026.
• London: £550,037, down 3.3% - an eleventh consecutive month of annual falls, and the region with the weakest annual rate. The North East was the strongest English region, at +4.9%.

Private rents moved the other way. UK rent inflation was 3.8% in the 12 months to August 2026, up from 3.7% in the 12 months to July 2026 and the highest annual rate since December 2025, with the average monthly rent at £1,400. Average rents were £1,459 in England (up 4.0%), £846 in Wales (up 4.3%) and £1,013 in Scotland (up 1.1%).

Who it affects

Anyone buying or selling is affected indirectly, because these are the figures estate agents, lenders, surveyors and the media quote back at them. London and South West homeowners are the clearest case in point: average prices there are now lower than a year ago, so a recent buyer in those markets should not assume the value of their home has risen. Renters face the opposite pressure: rent inflation is rising again, not falling, and the North East and North West of England recorded the fastest rent growth at 5.8%.

Why it matters

The headline figure is not a single national trend. Prices are still rising in most of the UK, but the pace has slowed for three months running while rents have started to accelerate again, and the largest English market is falling. Reading one number as "the market" hides that. It also matters for anyone timing a sale or a purchase: a slower annual rate means less price growth to absorb buying costs, and in London and the South West the average price is now below its level a year ago.

Source: GOV.UK - UK House Price Index summary July 2026 — Provisional estimates published 16 September 2026; figures checked 16 September 2026

Source: ONS - Private rent and house prices, UK: September 2026 — Published 16 September 2026; figures checked 16 September 2026