Analysis of movement in house price indices

Each month, Halifax, Nationwide and HM Land Registry publish house price indices, tracking the movement in average house prices in the UK. Halifax and Nationwide updates are based on mortgage approvals data, while the UK HPI is a joint production by HM Land Registry, Land and Property Services Northern Ireland, ONS and Registers of Scotland.

House price growth steadies in April

House prices increased in the year to April 2026, by 0.4% and 3.0% according to Halifax⁽¹⁾ and Nationwide’s⁽²⁾ indices.

On a monthly basis, Halifax reported a 0.1% decrease in house prices in April while Nationwide reported a 0.4% increase.

Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist at BCIS, said: ‘The latest Halifax and Nationwide indices reveal greater-than-usual variation in house price movements over the 12 months to April 2026. Overall, house price growth appears to be losing some momentum as concerns over inflation begin to intensify.

‘With ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainty continuing to weigh on the outlook, the cost of living is expected to remain elevated for some time, further dampening buyer sentiment. This presents another challenge for housebuilders at a time of already subdued demand.

‘Nevertheless, industry commentary remains relatively measured, and market conditions could improve if continued wage growth helps to support prospective buyers.’

According to the latest insight from the Financial Conduct Authority, which collects mortgage lending data via the Mortgage Lending and Administration Return⁽³⁾, the value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) decreased by 11.9% in 4Q2025 from the previous quarter – the largest fall since 3Q2023.

Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages at Halifax, said despite a stronger start to the year recent global developments have added a greater degree of uncertainty to the housing market outlook.

‘Higher energy prices have fed into inflation expectations, prompting markets to reassess the path for interest rates – a shift that has already pushed up borrowing costs for many buyers,’ she said.

‘This understandably leads to more caution among some households, with the cost-of-living once again front of mind and extra thought being given to planned property moves. Even so, the housing market continues to display the resilience that has been its hallmark in recent years. While activity is likely to cool in the near term, the underlying picture remains one of relative stability, supported by wage growth that continues to outpace house price inflation.’

Commenting further, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, Robert Gardner, said: ‘Despite the uncertainty caused by developments in the Middle East and the subsequent rise in energy prices, the UK housing market has continued to regain momentum following the slowdown recorded around the turn of the year.

‘This is somewhat surprising given that indicators of consumer confidence have weakened noticeably. GfK’s headline index [used by the government to track consumer confidence] has fallen to its lowest level since late‑2023, reflecting households’ more pessimistic views of the economic outlook and their own financial position over the year ahead.’

The UK HPI⁽⁴⁾, with the latest data for February 2026, showed a 1.2% increase in house prices compared with February 2025, with a 0.1% rise on January 2026.

As the UK HPI figures cover house sales that may have been agreed in months previously, there tends to be a lag in the data.

^{Source: Halifax (Methodology), Nationwide (Methodology), UK HPI (Methodology)}

The latest regional data from Nationwide show Northern Ireland and the North West saw the greatest annual house price increases in 1Q2026, by 9.5% and 3.3% respectively.

East Anglia and the Outer South East were the only regions to experience a decrease on an annual basis, of 0.4% and 0.7% respectively.

In 1Q2026, the UK as a whole saw annual house price growth of 1.5% on the same quarter in 2025.

^{Source: Nationwide – Quarterly Regional House Price Statistics – Q1 2026}

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^{(1) Halifax – House Price Index – April 2026  - here}

^{(2) Nationwide – House price growth remained resilient in April  - here}

^{(3) FCA – Mortgage lending statistics – March 2026 - here}

^{(4) GOV.UK – House Price Index for February 2026 - here}