Market Update - August 2026

August is always a strange month for property. This one is stranger than usual...

There’s been good and bad news in equal measure, and often it looks like the headlines are pointing in opposite directions.

In our latest market update, Rob & Rob go through every number that moved: prices, rents, lending and what landlords are doing with their money. Sentiment is grim, the returns on offer are the strongest in years, and the space between those two things is the whole story.

• (00:45) A new Prime Minister, a returning Housing Secretary, and two property policies ruled out inside a week
• (02:17) Rates held at 3.75%, and the biggest August drop in asking prices since 2018
• (05:07) Four of the biggest lenders have repriced. Is this the start of a proper run of cuts?
• (06:13) The average UK rent is now £1,369, and one city is running far hotter than that
• (08:12) Landlords bought more homes than they sold for the first time since 2019
• (09:15) Residential construction starts are down 46% year on year, and building cannot be switched back on quickly

Links mentioned:

Politics:

• Burnham rules out property reform in Budget

Macro backdrop:

• Bank of England holds at 3.75%

House prices:

• Rightmove House Price Index
• Nationwide's House Price Index
• Lloyds' House Price Index (formerly Halifax)

Mortgages and lending:

• Barclays, HSBC, Santander, Coventry all reprice down
• Buy-to-let arrears and repossessions fall

Rents:

• HomeLet Rental Index
• Manchester city centre rental report

Landlord behaviour:

• Hamptons: landlords are net buyers for the first time since 2019

Planning and supply:

• Persimmon half-year results
• Glenigan: residential construction starts down 46% year on year

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