Rightmove reports biggest June house price fall in 14 years

Britain’s housing market showed fresh signs of strain as newly listed homes were priced lower at the start of the summer selling season, with Rightmove reporting the biggest June asking-price fall in 14 years. The average price of a home coming to market dropped 0.6%, or £2,113, to £376,191, a move that points to sellers trimming expectations as buyers grow more cautious.

The scale of the fall matters because June is usually a month for small price increases. Instead, sellers met a market shaped by higher borrowing costs, softer demand and a record level of homes available for the time of year. Rightmove said buyer demand in May was 10% lower than a year earlier, sales agreed were down 6%, and more than a third of new listings were failing to find a buyer, suggesting that affordability is still constraining the pace of activity.

Mortgage pressure is easing only slowly. Rightmove said the average two-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.07% from 5.18% the previous month, trimming the average monthly mortgage payment by about £30. That is a modest improvement, but not enough to restore the urgency seen when borrowing costs were lower. For many households, even small rate changes still shape how far they can stretch, and the data suggest buyers remain highly sensitive to price.

The broader picture is one of cooling confidence rather than outright collapse. Unusually hot weather and war-related uncertainty linked to Iran also weighed on demand, adding to a market already adjusting to tighter budgets and a wider choice of homes for sale. The result is a slower, more selective market in which sellers need sharper pricing and stronger presentation to stand out.

The weakness was not evenly spread. Prices fell across southern England and Wales, while more affordable parts of the North East and Scotland held up better than a year earlier. Rightmove said homes in Scotland were taking an average of 31 days to find a buyer, underlining how regional resilience is helping to mask softer conditions elsewhere.

Rightmove’s June 2026 House Price Index was published on June 15, 2026, and the next update is due on July 20. That will show whether June was a seasonal reset or the first sign that summer demand is weakening more deeply across Britain’s housing market.