Weekly Real Estate News
Summary
Nationwide's October 2026 UK House Price Index recorded annual growth of 0.5%, down from 0.8% in September and the weakest since January 2024. Seasonally adjusted prices were unchanged month to month, while the unadjusted average price was £273,566. Nationwide linked the slowdown to weaker buyer inquiries, inflation concerns and expectations for higher borrowing costs.
Annual UK house-price growth slowed to 0.5% in October, the weakest reading since January 2024, as higher mortgage costs and subdued buyer interest weighed on a market that had already lost momentum through the autumn.
The Nationwide House Price Index released October 30 showed annual growth easing from 0.8% in September. Prices were essentially unchanged month to month after seasonal adjustment, following a 0.3% fall in September. Nationwide put the unadjusted average UK home price at £273,566, compared with £274,251 the previous month.
The distinction between those measures matters. The reported flat monthly movement is seasonally adjusted; the £685 change in the average cash price is based on an unadjusted series and is not directly interchangeable with that monthly index reading.
Borrowing costs pressure buyers
Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner attributed the weakening to an uncertain economic outlook, pressure from energy prices and expectations that borrowing costs could rise. Those are the lender’s assessment of market forces, not a prediction that the Bank of England has already approved another rate increase.
Surveyors have been reporting weak new-buyer inquiries, while consumer confidence deteriorated in October, according to Nationwide. The lender said rising expectations for the Bank Rate have pushed up the market interest rates used to price mortgages. This is particularly important for buyers whose affordability calculations depend on fixed-rate offers set before the next central bank decision.
UK housing conditions beyond prices
The figures follow a separate WRE News report on September mortgage approvals, which found purchase borrowing at its lowest level since 2023 even as remortgaging increased. Nationwide’s index measures prices on its mortgage approvals and should not be treated as a census of every UK property transaction.
The October slowdown also follows a sharp reversal in Nationwide’s outlook from the beginning of the year. The lender’s earlier 2026 outlook had envisaged annual house-price growth of 2% to 4% amid improving affordability. October’s 0.5% annual increase is well below that range, although the full-year figure has yet to be determined.
Gardner said income growth has continued to outpace house-price inflation, preserving some of the affordability improvement recorded over the preceding two years. But he also warned that buyers may remain cautious while the outlook for energy costs and interest rates is unsettled.
For estate agents and lenders, the next tests are whether new-buyer inquiries stabilize and whether mortgage pricing changes ahead of the Bank of England’s November policy meeting. Nationwide’s October data provide an early signal of softer prices; they do not establish how many sales will close or where regional markets will finish the year.
