Latest: May property market report

May was the month everyone learnt something about asking prices. Both portals came to the same conclusion about the same matter. Unrealistic pricing is a market-wide problem and sellers need to adjust for the best chance of sales success.

Let’s look at the data in detail. Zoopla measured sales levels over the past three years. It asked more than 2,000 UK residents who tried to sell in that timeframe their outcome. Almost half of the homes listed (44%) failed to sell.

Over ambitious sellers confess

Participants were asked why they couldn’t find a buyer. A pricing issue was the most common reason. More than a third (34%) looked back and realised they’d set an unrealistically high asking price at the start. A further 16.2% knew their home was overpriced before they came to market.  

Price reductions damage prospects

Zoopla’s research sends a warning to new sellers hoping to achieve success without compromise. Of those sellers who did manage to sell their home, 53% reduced their asking price to attract a buyer. It’s a trend evidenced recently, as the portal revealed the average UK home sold for 3.5% below the asking price in the first 3 months of 2026. 

The sentiment over at Rightmove was similar. It said 'over-optimistic' initial pricing was behind longer selling times and eventual asking price cuts to 32% of homes for sale. Sellers should also note Rightmove found a property needing a price reduction took 91 days longer to sell than one where the asking price wasn’t reduced.

Sellers continue to be optimistic about the market, however. Rightmove released its most recent house price index in mid May, with the data revealing asking prices have increased month-on-month. The average asking price of a property coming to market jumped 1.2% to £378,304. Our advice remains to obtain an up-to-date valuation and price in line with your local market.

The market does remain finely poised. Only in April did TwentyCi’s Q1 2026 Property & Homemover Report claim it was cheaper to buy a home than rent. In May, the pendulum swung back in the other direction. 

Rightmove declared that it was cheaper to rent than buy for the first time since June 2025. The portal qualified this by saying the average monthly rent in Great Britain was lower than a typical new mortgage payment. The saving? Renters were £123 better off every month.

Newly agreed tenancies increase in cost

These trends should be taken lightly as further emerging research in May showed fluctuations. HomeLet’s latest Rental Index found the UK’s average rent for a newly agreed tenancy increased again. New tenancies now cost an average of £1,340 per month, which equates to a 1.1% increase compared to April.

Also impacting whether it’s cheaper to buy or rent are mortgage rates. While these increased in April due to the conflict in Iran, May saw lenders reduce rates attached to some two- and five-year fixed mortgages. The future of mortgage rates will depend on the direction of the base rate and inflation. 

Landlords enjoy increased yields

Renting remains a critical option for many home movers, whether they are priced out of the sales market or just prefer the flexibility. This sentiment is why a growing number of landlords are holding firm with their buy-to-let activity.

The latest Landlords Trends report, co-produced by Foundation and Pegasus Insight, revealed 84% of landlords are making a profit from lettings, with an average rental yield that has increased to 6.5%. The number of landlords planning to stick with buy-to-let also increased, up from 58% to 63%.

If you would like to know more about your local property market, please get in touch.