August Market Update

After a summer that’s set to be the hottest on record, focus shifts from unpacking suitcases back to property searches. August provided a market reset, with some interesting statistics as a result. Here’s where things lie as we head into September.

The long-standing message about sensible pricing has finally reached sellers. Even the new Prime Minister has affected the property market. And rents? Well, they’re on the up again.

Sellers cooled their ambitions

Asking prices decreased: Rightmove’s August House Price Index showed the UK’s average asking price for newly listed properties decreased 2%. The average asking price dropped in every region bar the North East. Here it increased 0.6%.

Budget news spurred on buyers

The Burnham Bounce: Rightmove found since Andy Burnham’s appointment as Prime Minister on 20th July 2026, buyer demand increased 5%. No doubt this figure has been helped along by the leader’s pledge not to change property tax in this autumn’s Budget.

Property? It’s a family affair: when The Private Office interviewed more than 2,000 adults aged 45 and over, it found property had become the leading reason (51%) for families gifting or loaning money. Buying a property was ahead of general living costs (20%) and education costs (8%). Among respondents, 88% said they would consider helping children or grandchildren purchase a home, while 97% felt it was difficult, or very difficult, for young people to buy without family support.

Viewing nerves for first-time buyers: a new study by LPL found first-time buyers take time to get into their viewing stride. After questioning 500 property novices, the tax firm found just 20% felt excited on their first viewing. Excitement peaked during the fourth or fifth viewing for 47% of first-time buyers. Levels dropped the longer the search went on, dipping to 30% at 6 to 10 viewings and 25% at 11 to 20.

Newly-agreed tenancies more costly: rents continue to rise, according to the latest HomeLet Rental Index. A +1.2% month-on-month increase has taken the UK’s average rent to £1,369 per calendar month (pcm). The cumulative effect is annual rental inflation of +4.3%.

Every region saw rents rise: rents rose most in Scotland (+2.5%). The next best performers were the South East (+1.4%), the North West (+1.3%), the North East (+1.2%) and London (+1.2%). The West Midlands posted the smallest increase at +0.2%.

Northern regions offered best value for money: despite the biggest rent increases mainly occurring in Northern regions, they’re still some of the most affordable areas. Zoopla’s report on the cheapest places to rent in the UK christened the North East as the most affordable, with an average rent of £766 pcm. Yorkshire and the Humber (£866) and Scotland (£885) took second and third spot.

The cheapest city rents revealed: renters determined to live in the UK’s cities benefited from a list of cheapest urban areas, also published by Zoopla. Burnley was crowned the most affordable city, with an average monthly rent of £646. Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Hull and Grimsby also had monthly rents of £700 or less.

Reasons for rent hikes revealed

Higher overall costs sparked increases: Handelsbanken’s fifth annual report found the cost of maintenance and repairs, insurance and energy efficiency upgrades were behind increasing rents. More than two fifths of professional investors, property managers and landlords said rising costs had also prompted them to become more selective about the tenants they rented to.

Optimism, not mass exit: despite rising costs and growing compliance, the report found 84% of investors plan to increase their portfolio over the next 12 months. This compares to just 54% in Handelsbanken’s 2025 survey. Reasons for growth included buying opportunities or valuations (70%), strong rental demand (58%) and financing availability (33%).

If you would like to know more about your local property market, please get in touch.