House price growth across Britain has turned negative

Landlords weighing up whether to buy, sell or refinance now face a housing market where average monthly price growth has moved into negative territory for only the second time in a decade.

Research by Yopa found that average house prices across Britain have fallen by 0.22% a month so far in 2026, compared with growth of 0.15% a month last year.

The estate agency analysed average monthly house price growth in England, Wales and Scotland between 2016 and 2026 to assess how market momentum has shifted over time.

Prices continued to rise during 2025 despite pressure on the housing market, although the 0.15% average monthly increase was lower than the 0.24% recorded in 2024.

The strongest year in the period was 2021, when prices rose by an average of 0.63% a month, helped by pandemic-era demand and the stamp duty holiday.

Direction of the market

The firm’s chief executive, Verona Frankish, said: “House price growth can often be erratic and heavily influenced by seasonality, economic conditions and wider buyer sentiment.

“However, when we look at the average monthly rate of growth over the course of a year, it gives us a far clearer picture of the overall direction of the market.

“Over the last decade, that direction has been overwhelmingly positive, with 2023 previously standing as the only year where average monthly growth slipped into negative territory.”

She added: “Whilst the market entered 2026 on a relatively positive footing, a combination of economic uncertainty, affordability pressures and wider geopolitical instability has since caused momentum to soften and, as it stands, house prices are currently trending downwards across Britain.”

Reasons for price falls

So far this year, higher borrowing costs, affordability pressures and economic uncertainty have pushed average monthly growth below zero.

Sellers have also had to reconsider asking prices to secure a sale.

The only other year in the past decade when average monthly growth turned negative was 2023, when prices fell by an average of 0.23% a month.

England has recorded the smallest fall so far in 2026, with prices down by an average of 0.16% a month.

Wales has seen a steeper drop, with prices falling by 0.75% a month on average, while Scotland has recorded an average monthly decline of 0.45%.