UK house prices rise sharper than usual for May; market "confident"

(Alliance News) - UK house prices climbed on-month in May but declined year-on-year, data ...

Alliance News 17 May, 2026 | 11:01PM
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(Alliance News) - UK house prices climbed on-month in May but declined year-on-year, data published by Rightmove showed on Monday.

The average new seller asking price was up 1.2% in May to GBP378,304, exceeding the typical ten-year May increase of 1.0% amid "surprisingly strong" market confidence. On-year, the average new seller asking price was 0.3% lower in May.

The number of homes for sale remained at an 11-year high for this time of year, Rightmove said, with 32% of listings of existing homes for sale seeing a price reduction.

Rightmove said: "New sellers need to price more competitively, as over-optimistic initial pricing is leading to longer selling times."

The average two-year fixed mortgage rate meanwhile fell to 5.18% from 5.42% a month prior, which Rightmove said reduced the average monthly mortgage payment by around GBP50.

Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said: "What's encouraging is how resilient activity has remained, even among first‑time buyers, despite the ongoing pressures of higher living costs and mortgage rates. The number of sales agreed in the first-time buyer sector is performing better than expected and is broadly tracking the wider market. Prices in the typical first-time-buyer sector are lower than a year ago, helping to support affordability. It's a healthy dynamic that activity is continuing not because buyers are overstretching, but because prices are adjusting to levels that some would-be buyers can realistically afford."

Rightmove Mortgage Expert Matt Smith said: "While mortgage rates remain higher than many buyers would like, the picture on affordability has become a little more supportive this month. Small rate falls can make a meaningful difference to monthly budgets, and when combined with greater flexibility in lending following last year's review of affordability rules, many buyers are still able to make the numbers work.

"This helps to explain why activity has continued to hold up, particularly among first‑time buyers. Price sensitivity is clearly feeding through into more restrained pricing at the entry level, but importantly this reflects affordability shaping the market rather than a drop‑off in appetite. Where homes are priced realistically and budgets stack up, many buyers are still pressing ahead with their plans."

By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor

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