UK annual house price growth halved to 0.8% in September 2026, down from 1.6% in August, Nationwide Building Society’s House Price Index showed Thursday — the weakest annual pace since December 2025. Prices also fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% month-on-month, a surprise drop: a Reuters poll of economists had forecast 1.3% annual growth and flat monthly prices.
The slowdown was broad-based. Eight of the UK’s 13 regions recorded annual growth below 1% in the third quarter, with four posting outright declines — East Anglia the weakest, down 0.7% year-on-year. Northern Ireland remained the strongest-performing region, though its annual growth cooled to 5.9% from 8.6% in the second quarter. Terraced homes were the best-performing property type, up 1.8% annually, while flats were essentially unchanged in value. Separately, Reuters reported that Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a new scheme to help first-time buyers onto the property ladder, offering loans of up to 20% of a property’s value to buyers with a 2.5% deposit; further details are due in Chancellor John Healey’s budget later this month.
Nationwide’s chief economist, Robert Gardner, said market activity and prices had “remained subdued in recent months, in part reflecting the uncertain economic backdrop,” pointing to the conflict in the Middle East pushing up energy prices and fanning inflation concerns, which has in turn lifted financial markets’ expectations of further Bank Rate increases and kept mortgage rates elevated. Reuters reported that markets are pricing in a quarter-point Bank of England rate rise in November, with another move expected in February.
Gardner said underlying affordability is improving because house price growth has lagged earnings growth for some time, adding: “This suggests that activity should regain momentum in the quarters ahead providing the energy shock fades and confidence returns — especially if market interest rates fall back to pre-conflict levels.”
References
Nationwide Building Society – Annual House Price Growth Halves in September / Reuters – UK Annual House Price Growth Weakest Since December 2025 After Surprise September Drop
