June Housing Update
- sort style and stage
- Jul 16
- 5 min read
The housing market never stands still and June's numbers are telling an interesting story.
Let's take a closer look at what the latest housing new reveals and what it could mean for buyers and sellers.
Rightmove
Average house prices have fallen by 0.6% (-£2,113) this month to an average selling price of £376,191. This is the largest June price drop in fourteen years
Summer is typically slower than Spring and this has been kick-started already due to the heatwave we've been experiencing, with buyers also distracted by sporting events and holidays
The average two-year mortgage fixed rate has dropped, reducing the average monthly mortgage payment by around £30
The number of houses for sale is down 1% compared with 2025 however they are still at a historically high level
Over a third of new listings that come to market are not going on to sell - a phenomenal number!
Source: Rightmove
Take a look at the overall average sale price over the last 5 years. Here you can see the usual seasonal pattern - with the 2026 Summer drop a little earlier compared to previous years.
Source: Rightmove
It's taking longer to find a buyer compared to May (although the same amount of days as last Summer), see below.
Source: Rightmove
Even though the headlines confirm a decline in the average asking price this month, the broader picture shows there is more choices for buyers, including the benefit of reduce borrowing.
Colleen Babcock, Rightmove property expert says:
It’s unusual to see a price fall of this size in June, as we would normally expect to see modest price growth at this point in the year. What’s different this time is a combination of factors, including wider economic uncertainty, the timing of the May bank holiday and unusual heatwave, and the high number of homes on the market, which together appear to be bringing forward the traditionally slower summer market.
In this kind of market, sellers need to work harder to attract attention. Setting a competitive asking price from the outset is key, as buyers are taking more time to compare options and are quick to move on if a home doesn’t stand out on value. When sellers are over-optimistic on price and find they need to reduce later to sell, it can be harder to regain momentum, which underlines just how important it is to get the pricing right from day one.
Learn more here
Zoopla
Zoopla is estimated to have 20-30% of all sales listings so its always interesting to see their insight. This month they focus on:
Sales are 7% lower than May driven by higher mortgage rates and political uncertainty
House price inflation has eased slightly to 1.4%
Mortgage rates have begun to decrease
Price growth to ease further in the second half of 2026, as they expect sales to finish 6–8% lower than 2025, with around 1.1 million completions
Take a look at the key economic impacts below and how they've affected sales since 2022.
Source: Zoopla
Buyer esire to move has remained strong, although higher borrowing costs and wider uncertainty have led some buyers to take longer to commit. Across June, sales agreed are around 7% below 2025, with buyer enquiries down by around 15%, continuing the overall pattern for 2026. Average mortgage rates were below 4% in January, peaked in April at almost 5%.
The type of property for sale also has interesting sale rates:
Two and three-bedroom houses - selling close to 2025 pace.
Four bedroom homes - a staggering 65% are still unsold at 20 weeks
Flats - remain the weakest segment. Over 67% of one and two-bedroom flats listed this year remain unsold!
Over a 5 month period from January 2026, this is what Zoopla is seeing:
Source: Zoopla
In terms of outlook, Zoopla expect sales to finish around 2% below 2025 levels and combining this with higher borrowing costs means the decline is now likely to be greater.
Zoopla says:
Well-priced homes continue to attract buyers and sell.
Learn more here.
Interest Rates and Broader Perspective
Let's take a look at the broader picture.
The Bank of England have kept the base rate at 3.75% factoring in a number of elements:
the Middle East continues to disrupt the transport and supply of energy with increased motor fuel and utility costs. They note that prices have fallen but the war makes it hard to predict ongoing impact
the rate of inflation has fallen to 2.8% although this is expected to increase as energy prices rises
demand for worker demands is not very high so in turn employers may be less likely to increase salaries
they conclude by saying that their intention is for inflation to come back to the target in the "medium term"
Take a look at the historical base rate since 2005. Do you remember the below 1% rates between late 2000's and 2020!
Source: Bank of England
Learn more here.
Gartner, a global research company says:
If maintained, these trends will help to restore household confidence and ease affordability constraints, paving the way for a recovery in housing market activity in the coming quarters, providing that domestic political uncertainty does not adversely impact sentiment.
Amanda Bryden, the head of mortgages at Lloyds, says:
“Recent price trends continue to reflect wider economic uncertainty, including the impact of global events on inflation and interest rate expectations.
Looking ahead, we expect the housing market to continue moving at a measured pace. Lower borrowing costs should provide some support for demand, though affordability constraints remain an important factor. The outlook for house prices will depend largely on inflation continuing to ease and household confidence gradually improving.
Ashley Webb, senior UK Economist at Capital Economics, says:
June’s rise in prices was the first monthly gain since before the start of the Iran war at the end of February.
[The increase] suggests that the weak housing market may be starting to turn a corner, especially if the recent fall in swap rates, which underpin the pricing of fixed mortgages, is sustained.
Reflecting on this latest housing and the wider global news, Ceri Owen, our founder says:
The overall message for sellers and buyers alike remains the same - price right and present well and you will generate more interest in your home and in turn be able to find the right buyer and achieve the best market price.
As you can see it's not just about staging for us at sort style and stage. It's about much more - understanding the market, understanding the target buyer, investing sensibly, coming up with a cohesive action plan and implementing efficiently so that our clients sell quickly and for the highest sale price.
If you'd like to learn more about how we can help, reach out to info@sortstyleandstage - we'd love to hear from you!
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