Halifax House Price Index — May 2026
Prices Flat, North–South Fracture Widens
Damian Pudner | Director, GBTT
£298,806
Average price
May 2026
−£445 vs April
−0.1%
Monthly change
(seasonally adj.)
Second consecutive marginal fall
+0.5%
Quarterly change
(3-month)
Slowing but still positive
+0.5%
Annual change
(year-on-year)
Up from +0.4% in April
Real Terms — Adjusted for CPI Inflation (Apr 2026: +2.8%, ONS)
| Measure |
Nominal |
Real (CPI-adj) |
| Annual house price change |
+0.5% |
−2.3% |
| Average price (real, Apr 2026 £) |
£298,806 |
£290,667 |
| Quarterly change (real, indicative) |
+0.5% |
approx. −0.2% |
Real terms = nominal figure minus CPI annual rate. Quarterly real change is indicative only — approximated as nominal quarterly change minus one quarter of annual CPI; not a directly measured statistic. Average real price = nominal price deflated by 1.028 (£298,806 ÷ 1.028 = £290,667). Sources: Halifax HPI (May 2026); ONS CPI (April 2026).
Key Points
- National average price £298,806 — second consecutive marginal monthly fall of −0.1% (matching April); quarterly growth slowing to +0.5%, still positive in nominal terms.
- Annual growth +0.5% is near-flat in nominal terms and negative in real terms once inflation is accounted for.
- Northern Ireland leads UK growth at +7.8% annually (£227,177); Scotland +3.8%. Supply constraints and relative affordability the primary drivers.
- London −1.5% (£534,375) and South East −2.1% (£382,704) — premium southern markets bearing the brunt of elevated mortgage costs, their higher valuation multiples amplifying rate sensitivity.
- First-time buyer annual growth a modest +0.3%, confirming the entry tier remains under sustained affordability pressure.
- BoE mortgage approvals 65,945 in April — highest since January 2025, +9.0% year-on-year — suggesting residual demand, but RICS buyer enquiries remain deeply negative at −34 net balance.
- Halifax attributes price stagnation to Middle East uncertainty keeping inflation expectations elevated and mortgage rates above their January 2026 levels.
Nations & Regions — Annual House Price Growth, May 2026
Nominal — growth
Nominal — near-flat
Nominal — decline
Real (CPI-adj) — growth
Real (CPI-adj) — decline
CPI −2.8%
| Region / Nation |
Nominal |
Real (CPI-adj) |
Avg Price |
| Northern Ireland † | +7.8% | +5.0% | £227,177 |
| Scotland | +3.8% | +1.0% | £222,650 |
| North East | +3.1% | +0.3% | £181,703 |
| North West | +3.0% | +0.2% | £248,304 |
| National | +0.5% | −2.3% | £298,806 |
| Wales | +0.1% | −2.7% | £230,355 |
| London | −1.5% | −4.3% | £534,375 |
| South East | −2.1% | −4.9% | £382,704 |
Real change = nominal annual % minus UK CPI (April 2026: +2.8%, ONS). UK CPI applied uniformly across all regions and nations — there is no live official regional inflation index. † ONS is developing an experimental Northern Ireland-specific CPI (work ongoing as of late 2025; not yet in regular production). In the absence of a published NI inflation series, UK CPI is the correct and only available deflator. Sources: Halifax HPI (May 2026); ONS CPI (April 2026).
12-Month Price Trend — May 2025 to May 2026
Average price (£, left axis)
Annual change (%, right axis)
Market Activity — April 2026
BoE Mortgage Approvals
65,945
+3.1% m/m · +9.0% y/y
Highest since Jan 2025
Source: Bank of England
HMRC Residential Transactions (SA)
101,030
−3% vs March (103,910)
+53% y/y — base distorted*
Source: HMRC, 29 May 2026
RICS Buyer Enquiries
−34
Net balance, April
Improved from −40 in March
Source: RICS Monthly Survey
* The +53% year-on-year figure is heavily distorted. April 2025 activity was exceptionally depressed as buyers had pulled forward completions into March 2025 ahead of stamp duty threshold changes on 1 April 2025. Not a meaningful comparator.
Next Releases
Halifax House Price Index — June 2026
Early July 2026
HMRC Property Transactions (May 2026)
30 June 2026 · 09:30
BoE Money & Credit · 29 June 2026 · 09:30
Data sources: Halifax House Price Index (May 2026), published 5 June 2026 — compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices under licence from Lloyds Banking Group. HMRC UK Property Transaction Statistics (April 2026), published 29 May 2026. Bank of England Money & Credit (April 2026). RICS Residential Market Survey (April 2026). All transaction/approval figures seasonally adjusted unless stated. Note: Halifax HPI is a lender-based index covering mortgage approvals; it differs methodologically from the ONS House Price Index which covers completed transactions. GBTT uses official and primary institutional sources only.
Disclaimer: This release is for informational and commentary purposes. It does not constitute financial or investment advice. © GBTT 2026.
Two consecutive months of −0.1% is not a crash — but it is not health either. The housing market is in suspended animation: stable enough in transaction terms to avoid a crisis narrative, but quietly losing ground in real terms. The north-south divergence is the more important signal: affordable, supply-constrained northern markets are finding buyers; premium southern markets, where affordability was already stretched before rates moved higher again, are now in price decline. The mortgage approvals uptick is the one piece of residual demand evidence in the data — whether it survives the rate environment into summer is the key question.