August Housing Update
As always, there's lots of news to share about the housing market, despite August traditionally being slower due to the holiday season. We cover the usual updates from Rightmove and Zoopla and also look at other news sources.
We've also got some very exciting news to share - read on!
The Prime Minister has ruled out property tax changes in this October’s budget, so sellers and buyers have fewer reasons to wait and see what will happen in the housing market.
Rightmove
Since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister on 20 July 2026, Rightmove have reported a mini bounce in buyer demand, up by 5%.
Buyer activity across August however was 10% lower than the same period in 2025. This means a drop in the average asking price by 2.0% (-£7,360) to £364,999. Sellers reduced their price expectations in reaction to the quieter holiday period although the volume of homes for sale is at a 12-year high!
Source: Rightmove
Colleen Babock, Rightmove says:
This month's larger-than-usual August price drop is a sign that many sellers are recognising the reality of the market and pricing much more competitively from day one. Buyers have the widest choice of homes for sale at this time of year in more than a decade, so standing out on price for the right reasons is hugely important.
While no seller likes to come to market lower than they might have hoped, Rightmove analysis shows that those who price realistically are statistically proven to be giving themselves the strongest chance of finding a buyer and successfully completing a move.
The average time to secure a buyer is creeping upwards and for August this stood at 63 days, the same number of days as in August 2025.
Rightmove note that higher mortgage rates continue to stretch buyers, with their daily mortgage tracker showing the average 2 year fixed mortgage rate was 5.09% in August, up from 4.95% in July. They expect some downwards movement in rates over September.
Although the Bank of England Base Rate has remained at 3.75% since December 2025, uncertainty in global politics, including the ongoing war in the Middle East, has made financial markets more unpredictable and Colleen Babcock explains:
There’s stability for now as the Bank of England holds its Base Rate as widely expected. We’ve seen average mortgage rates increase over the last few weeks as geopolitical tensions have escalated, and the average two-year fixed rate is currently coming it at 5.06%.
Rightmove have considered the changing landscape of mortgage rates, combined with geopolitical uncertainty and the new Chancellor’s first Budget in October. They have accordingly, reduced their average price forecast for 2026 from +2% to between 0 and -2%, over the year as a whole.
Learn more here.
Zoopla
Home searches are up 7% compared with August 2025 although house price growth has slowed to 0.9%, down from 1.3% in June.
Buyer purchasing power has dropped by 9% since January, due to higher mortgage rates. Buyers do however have plenty of choice, with 5% more homes for sale than in August 2025.
Looking at the data below, it is good to see the upward turn in searches, enquiries and sales agreed.
Source: Zoopla
Late August and early September tend to bring more asking price reductions, as sellers adjust their expectations to attract returning buyers. Zoopla confirm that sellers who price realistically are best placed to attract buyers this Autumn.
Annual house price growth is expected to slow from 1.4% towards around 1% by the end of 2026. The biggest influencer on the market remains mortgage rates. Affordability remains stretched and any further increases is likely to lead to lower buyer demand.
The year on year gap in sales is expected to narrow through Q3 and Q4. However, higher borrowing costs mean sales will likely result in lower sales by year end, compared to what Zoopla originally expected.
Zoopla confirm that well-priced homes continue to attract buyers and sell.
Learn more here.
Nationwide
Nationwide confirmed that annual house price growth remained broadly stable in August at 1.6% with house prices up 0.2% from July to August.
* Seasonally adjusted figure.
Source: Nationwide
Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist says:
Market expectations of the future path of Bank Rate have been volatile. While the latest energy price shock poses inflation risks, there have been encouraging signs that it is not feeding through to underlying price pressures.
... Underlying affordability is improving, as house price growth remains well below earnings growth. although some of these gains have been offset by higher mortgage rates. Nevertheless, this suggests that activity should regain momentum in the quarters ahead providing the energy shock wanes and confidence returns, especially if market interest rates fall back towards pre-conflict levels.
Learn more here.
Mortgate Rates
The average UK mortgage rates in August 2026 hovered between 5.61% and 5.63% for a 2 year fixed deal, while 5 year fixed rates averaged between 5.63% to 5.66%.
Lenders such as Nationwide, NatWest and Santander cut selected product rates, but broader economic pressures kept overall averages stable in the mid 5% range.
Not every lender eased their rates. During the first week of August, Halifax raised its fixed rates, for both home movers and first-time buyers, by 0.12% percentage points and remortgags by 0.05%. Halifax then reduced its rates from 24 August!
Fixed mortgage deals are priced from swap rates (swap rates are the rates that banks charge each other for borrowing). When swap rates ease and lenders compete for lending volume, fixed rates fall even while the base rate is held. The reverse also happens.
Base Rate & Inflation
The Bank of England Base rate was not reviewed in August so remained at 3.75%. It will next be reviewed on 16 September 2026. Learn more here.
Oxford Economics expect the base rate to remain unchanged at 3.75% for the remainder of 2026 and well into 2027. The Bank is balancing near-term inflationary shocks caused by the Iran war against the longer-term fragility of the UK labour market.
Inflation is forecast to fall towards the target level of 2% in 2027, again assuming there is a lasting and permanent resolution to the Iran war. The market is likely to remain subdued although the prospect of a stronger market next year is expected.
What Does the Latest Housing News Mean for Sellers?
Reflecting on the latest housing news, Ceri Owen, our founder, says:
The summer period inevitably affects activity levels, but the evidence shows that realistically priced properties continue to sell—even in August—despite mortgage-rate pressures and wider global uncertainty.
Understanding the market before launching is therefore critical. Setting the price too high can cause a property to sit on the market and lose momentum. Pricing and presenting it properly for the target buyer gives your property a much stronger opportunity to sell quickly and achieve the best possible price.
At sort style and stage, it is never just about staging. We combine market knowledge and target-buyer insight with sensible investment, strategic pricing and effective presentation. We then develop and efficiently implement a cohesive action plan designed around the individual property. This is the thinking behind our Stage & Sell approach — bringing all of these elements together to prepare, position, market and sell a home for the strongest possible result.
If you are considering selling and would like to understand what the latest housing news could mean for your home, contact us at info@sortstyleandstage.com — we’d love to hear from you.
Other News
We're delighted to share that we've just won two national awards.
Great British Business Awards (GBBA)
We've won Bronze Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) of the Year 2026 in the GBBA. They received over 260 nominations in this SME category so to be an award winner is a huge achievement. This would not be possible without the amazing team at sort style and stage as well as many local trades that we work closely with.
We're now in the running for Bronze and Gold awards!
Ceri Owen, our founder, has also won Female Entrepreneur of the Year, in the Bronze category. GBBA received over 267 nominations in this category so for Ceri to achieve this award is incredible! Ceri is now in the running for Silver & Gold awards.
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