With house prices falling in June and buyers distracted by the World Cup and good weather, read more about the market in the latest house price index report, as well as our own insights from across West Wales.
In Brief
Nationally the market has seen –
- House prices have fallen by 0.6% (-£2,113) this month to £376,191. This is the biggest June price drop in fourteen years.¹
- June typically sees a small price increase, so this month’s drop suggests that many new sellers are adjusting prices in response to the record number of homes available for this time of year, and buyers being sensitive to pricing levels.¹
- Summer is typically slower than the spring and has been kick-started early by the heatwave this year, with buyers distracted by sporting events, holidays and better weather.¹
- The average two-year fixed rate has dropped to 5.07% from 5.18% last month, reducing the average monthly mortgage payment by around £30.¹
- Despite these challenges, sales activity remains steady overall. The number of sales agreed are down 6% compared with last year, but are broadly in line with recent years, almost the same as 2024 and 5% above 2023.¹
- House price inflation has eased slightly to 1.4%.²
- Mortgage rates peaked at 5% in April, up from just under 4% at the start of the year, and have since begun to edge down.²
- House price inflation varies from 3.5% in northern England to small price falls in the south.²
- Zoopla expects price growth to ease further in the second half of the year, with sales likely to finish 6–8% lower than 2025, at around 1.1 million completions.²
In terms of the Welsh property market –
- The average house price in Wales is now £271,459, down 1.6% over the last month, and down 0.3% year on year¹.
- The average number of days for a Welsh property to find a buyer has dropped significantly to 66¹.
¹Source – Rightmove
²Source – Zoopla
National Overview
Here is our monthly overview of the trends that Rightmove and Zoopla – two of the biggest names in the property market – have been seeing over the last month.
Rightmove’s Insights –
Rightmove says that with the average price of a newly-listed home falling by 0.6% to £376,191 it’s the biggest June price drop for fourteen years. It comes as sellers look to attract summer buyers in a market with a record number of homes available for this time of year. Normally June sees a small price increase, but the summer market is typically slower than spring, with buyers this year distracted by the World Cup, holidays and sunny weather. As a result, sellers are pricing well to attract interest.
It stresses that in a market where choice is high and buyers selective, it’s important to price correctly from the start. Its stats show that over a third of new listings that come to market are not going on to sell.
Other issues impacting the market are the ongoing economic challenges and global uncertainty, alongside higher mortgage rates, while the wide range of homes for sale is meaning buyers can take a less urgent approach – unless they see something that really stands out on price or presentation.
But overall, Rightmove says that sales activity remains steady, and while sales agreed are down 6% compared with last year, they are broadly in line with recent years.
Zoopla’s Insights –
Zoopla highlights that the desire to move home continues to be strong in the market, but says that higher borrowing costs and wider uncertainty have meant that some buyers are taking longer to commit to a purchase.
According to its figures, in June sales agreed were running at about 7% below last year, with buyer enquiries down about 15%, with more buyers taking a ‘wait and see’ approach until the economic and global outlook become clearer.
Zoopla also highlights that performance changes depending on location and property type. While sales in northern England and Scotland are down 3-6%, parts of Wales, the South West, East of England and East Midlands are seeing sales down 10% or more. It says that two and three-bedrooms houses continue to sell close to last year’s pace in many places, however flats are the weakest segment – over two thirds of one and two-bedroom flats listed this year are still unsold.
This highlights the choice available to buyers, and the importance of pricing to attract demand.
Regional Insight from Cardigan Bay Properties
We specialise in the property market in West Wales and monitor developments here throughout the year to give you the best, most accurate advice. We cover the key regions of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, and this month Helen Worrall, one of our founders, outlines the key trends we’ve seen through June 2026. If you’d like to find out more please get in touch.
Here in West Wales June has been another very busy month for our team, which shows how well the market is performing in this area. The number of valuations we carried out increased by 67% compared to last year, while the number of viewings we held was up by 65%, underlining the demand that exists in the market.
The number of offers accepted was also well up – 140% up on June 2025 figures, while new property instructions received increased by 18% and the number of new applicants registering their interest with us rose by over 21%.
Normally, as has been highlighted by Rightmove and Zoopla, good weather and sports events such as the World Cup, can slow the market as people make the most of the sunshine and watching the football, but June saw no let up in momentum from buyers or sellers across our regions. We may see some drop in July because of this – we’ll provide an update next month.
Your Regional Insights
Please note that each month these figures are two to three months behind due to the Land Registry taking longer to register new sales, so this report shows figures from July 2019 (pre-Covid pandemic) to April 2026.
CEREDIGION
The average property price in Ceredigion in April increased slightly across all property types, with the overall average price reported as £244,182 – up from £243,074 in March.
The monthly percentage change showed a small 0.5% increase, with all property types seeing this increase except terraced properties which saw an increase of 0.3%.
The yearly property price change for the region increased by 6.9% overall, with the largest increases seen for semi-detached properties – up 7.6% over the year. Strong increases were also seen for detached properties (up 7.2%) and terraced properties (up 6.6%), while flats rose 2.3%.
View the full Ceredigion report.
PEMBROKESHIRE
The average property price in Pembrokeshire in April 2026 increased slightly across all property types. The monthly percentage change shows an average increase of 0.4%, with the biggest increase for detached properties – up 0.5%. Semi-detached properties increased by 0.4%, while terraced properties and flats both increased by 0.3% over the month.
The yearly percentage change for the region is down 2.3%, with the biggest drop seen for flats which have fallen by 6.8% over the year. Detached properties and terraced properties both fell 2.1%, while semi-detached properties fell 1.7%.
View the full Pembrokeshire report.
CARMARTHENSHIRE
In April 2026 the average property price in Carmarthenshire fell to £196,784, down from £199,719 in March 2026, with all property types experiencing a drop.
This translates to a monthly percentage change down 1.5% overall, with the biggest drops seen for flats (down 1.8%); terraced properties (down 1.6%); semi-detached properties (down 1.5%); and detached properties (down 1.4%).
In terms of the yearly percentage price change however, prices were up 5.1% over the yea. The strongest growth was seen for semi-detached properties – up 5.5%, while terraced property prices grew by 5% and detached property prices grew by 4.9%. Prices for flats however fell by 0.7% over the year.
View the full Carmarthenshire report.
CURRENT UK HOUSE PRICE INDEX
* As of April 2026, the average house price in the UK is £270,080, and the index stands at 103.5. Property prices have risen by 0.7% compared to the previous month, and risen by 3.8% compared to the previous year.
*Details provided by the Land Registry. For more information on the House Price Index please CLICK HERE
Please note that the stats provided by the UK House Price Index are live and constantly evolving.
The information here is for guidance only. We always try to ensure that the information we provide is accurate at the time of publishing. The fast moving nature of the property market means that some information may be out of date when you read this article so please do your own research. We accept no responsibility or liability for any decisions you make based on this information.