market

Is it a good time to buy a house? What prices, rents and cash buyers show right now

Is it a good time to buy a house?

3 min read
Last reviewed 4 November 2026
By Your Property Check team

Part 1 of 6

What the data shows

General information, not advice, and not a prediction. Read our Terms. The figures below come from official statistics held in our data files, read on 4 November 2026. Prices are the UK House Price Index for August 2026 (HM Land Registry and the Office for National Statistics, updated on 21 October 2026). Rents are the ONS Price Index of Private Rents for August 2026. We do not forecast, and nothing here says whether prices will rise or fall.

Measure	Latest	Change	What it suggests (and does not)
UK average house price	£273,037	+0.9% on 12 months	Prices were broadly flat to slightly up; it does not say what your area or home type did
England average price	£293,525	+0.4%	Slightly weaker than the UK as a whole
London average price	£554,430	-2.2%	Falling on average; it does not mean every London street fell
North East average price	£165,640	+3.2%	The largest rise of the English regions in our file
Northern Ireland average price	£202,487	+9.2%	The largest annual rise of the nations and regions in our file
Local areas rising or falling	196 rising, 113 falling, of 317	Median change +0.8%	A mixed picture: most areas rose, but a large minority fell
Private rents, median across 118 rent areas	Area change ranges from -2.4% to +13.4%	+4.2% median	Rents rose faster than prices in the typical area, but the area sets differ
Homes bought without a mortgage, England	25.7% of 796,493 sales	Year to September 2025	About one in four sales; a proxy for cash, and an older window

Part 2 of 6

Are prices rising or falling?

Both, depending where you look. The UK figure was up 0.9% in the year to August 2026. Across 317 local areas in our file, 196 rose and 113 fell, with a median of +0.8%. The biggest fall was the City of London at -14.6% and the biggest rise was Pendle at +8.9%. Our data stories on where house prices are falling list the areas, and the index release shows the full series.

Part 3 of 6

Are rents rising faster?

On this evidence, yes in the typical area. Of 118 rent areas in our file, 114 had higher average rents than a year earlier and 4 lower, with a median change of +4.2%. That compares with a median of +0.8% across the 317 price areas. It is not a like-for-like comparison, because the rent areas are different and larger (Scotland's are groups of councils), and ONS labels these official statistics in development. A city can have rising rents and falling prices, or the reverse.

Part 4 of 6

What do cash buyers do?

Our data story on cash buyers by region shows the share of sales with no mortgage recorded. In England it was 25.7% of 796,493 sales between October 2024 and September 2025. That window ends earlier than the price figures and is a proxy for cash, not a count of it. A higher share can mean more competition from buyers who need no lender, but the figure alone cannot say how much.

Part 5 of 6

What this data cannot tell you

Your finances. We do not hold mortgage rates, incomes or deposit data. A mortgage in principle shows what a lender would offer you; see mortgage in principle explained.
Your house type and street. Averages mix flats and detached homes.
Costs. Buying has stamp duty and fees on top of the price; the stamp duty calculator and our guide to the cost of moving house cover these.
The future. A past 12 months is not a forecast. Our stamp duty changes timeline shows how tax rules have moved too.

Part 6 of 6

How to use it

The tidy answer would be a yes or a no, and the data does not support either. Treat the figures as context. A rise of 0.9% on a year is small next to the costs of buying, and a fall in one area says little about the next street.

Compare your own budget with the sold prices on the street, check the costs, and speak to a regulated adviser if you are unsure. The honest answer to the question is that the data describes a mixed market, and the right time depends on you.

This page is general information, not advice.

Our take

Read the data, then test it against your own budget

UK prices were up 0.9% on a year in August 2026, with 113 of 317 local areas falling. We think that mixed picture is exactly why a national headline cannot answer the question for you: your finances, your plans and your area matter more.

Your Property Check adds the address level. OfferCheck is a plain-English risk report on any UK address before you offer: crime, flood, planning, tenure and more, every figure sourced. There is a free snapshot, and the full OfferCheck Report starts from £4.99.

Get OfferCheck

Our opinion, drawn from the facts on this page: not advice and not a forecast. We earn from OfferCheck reports and from introducing sellers to cash buyers, so weigh it with that in mind (see our disclosure). We are not authorised or regulated by the FCA.

Questions, answered

Frequently asked questions

Is it a good time to buy a house?

The data cannot say. It depends on your finances, plans and area. In August 2026 UK prices were up 0.9% on a year, with 113 of 317 local areas falling. This is general information, not advice.

Are house prices rising or falling?

Both. The UK average was up 0.9% in the year to August 2026. In our file, 196 of 317 local areas rose and 113 fell, and the median change was +0.8%.

Are rents rising faster than prices?

In the typical area in our files, yes: median annual rent change was +4.2% across 118 rent areas, against +0.8% across 317 price areas. The area sets differ, so it is not an exact comparison.

What do cash buyers do to the market?

We show only how many there are. In England 25.7% of sales between October 2024 and September 2025 had no mortgage recorded. The figure does not show the effect on prices.

Where this comes from

Sources

Last reviewed 4 November 2026 by the Your Property Check team. This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. For your own situation, speak to a conveyancing solicitor or another qualified professional.