UK Asking Prices Rose 0.7% in September, the First Monthly Gain Since May

Asking prices for newly listed homes rose 0.7% to £367,440 in September, Rightmove says, the first monthly rise since May, but are still 0.8% lower on the year.

The average asking price of homes newly listed for sale in England, Scotland and Wales rose by 0.7%, or £2,441, to £367,440 in September, according to Rightmove's house price index published on 21 September 2026. It is the first monthly increase since May, and Rightmove describes it as above average for the time of year. Over twelve months, asking prices are still 0.8% lower.

A bounce with a crowded market behind it

The rise comes alongside weak activity. Buyer demand is 9% below the same period last year, and the number of sales agreed is also 9% lower. New listings are down 3%, yet the stock of homes for sale is at a 12-year high for the time of year, so sellers are competing for a smaller pool of buyers. A home now takes 64 days on average to find a buyer and a further 150 days to complete. Nationally, a home on the market has a 61% chance of selling. Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, called the September rise a modest recovery rather than a major turning point.

Scotland up, London down on the year

The regional picture splits in two. Scotland recorded the strongest movement, up 3.8% in the month and 4.2% on the year to £207,426, and 91% of Scottish homes for sale are finding a buyer. The North East (+2.7% on the year) and the North West (+1.7%) also sit above last year's level. London asking prices rose 1.8% in the month to £657,775 but remain 2.6% down on the year, the weakest annual reading of the eleven regions, and only 42% of London listings are finding a buyer. The South East is 1.8% lower on the year at £471,138, with 56% of homes selling.

By segment, top-of-the-ladder homes rose 0.9% to £672,728 and are the only group above last year's level, at +0.5%. First-time-buyer homes slipped 0.1% to £225,199.

Borrowing costs moved the other way

The average two-year fixed mortgage rate is now 5.29%, up from 5.09% a month earlier, Rightmove reports. That works against the autumn recovery, and it bears hardest on the first-time-buyer segment, the only one where asking prices fell in September.

Asking prices versus completed sales

Rightmove measures what sellers ask when a home first comes to market, not what buyers finally pay. Our UK market data uses the official UK House Price Index, where the average completed sale was £272,000 in June 2026, up 2% over twelve months and 37.9% over ten years. The £367,440 asking figure is about 35% higher, but the two series cover different homes at different stages of a sale, so the gap is not a measure of discounting. Pairing the official price with the ONS average private rent of £1,393 a month (July 2026) gives a gross rental yield of about 6.1%, or about 5.0% after the 18.51% effective tax on rental income we apply to a standard non-resident landlord. Our bubble score for the UK is 41, in the moderate band.

Sources: Rightmove, House Price Index September 2026, published 21 September 2026 https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/content/uploads/2026/09/Rightmove-HPI-21st-September.pdf; Rightmove, House Price Index regional data, September 2026 https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/house-price-index/

Market data: United Kingdom