The latest data from property website Home paints a mixed picture for the UK housing market, with rents falling and sales stock volumes climbing sharply—a signal that both the rental and sales sectors are under mounting pressure.
According to Home’s May rental market snapshot, annualised national growth in asking rents has dropped to -1.8%, a fall driven largely by a 7% surge in rental supply. The downturn is most acute in London, but declines are also reported across the West Midlands, South East, and Yorkshire. In contrast, the East Midlands continues to buck the trend, showing strong rental growth of 9.0% year-on-year.
Only nine of London’s 33 boroughs recorded positive rent growth, and three of those were below 1%. The boroughs of Camden and Islington saw some of the steepest declines, with rents falling by 8.9% and 9.9%, respectively.
In the sales market, annual house price growth remains subdued, with values across England and Wales up just 1.4%, well below inflation. However, it’s the rapid rise in unsold stock that has drawn attention, with 30,621 new listings added in the last month alone—far above what would be expected for the season.
That brings the total number of unsold homes on the market to 533,797, the highest figure since October 2013.
While new supply entering the market remains moderate in most regions, Home notes slight surges in the North East and South West. The high volume of unsold properties, despite strong sales activity, is being linked to weaker buyer demand following the recent stamp duty hike.
“Even with a property turnover rate that’s higher than any other May in the past ten years, it’s not enough to prevent a significant build-up of unsold stock,” the report said.
The largest monthly sales price increases in April were seen in Scotland and Yorkshire, with respective gains of 1.6% and 1.0%. On a year-on-year basis, Scotland leads the UK with 4.5% growth, followed closely by Yorkshire at 4.3%. Meanwhile, the South East continues to lag, with a 0.4% annual decline in home prices.
Despite an overall uptick in sales momentum, the report warns that rising Time on Market figures—now five days higher than in May last year—suggest that properties are taking longer to sell, even amid elevated market activity.
With the rental market cooling and unsold stock building in the sales sector, the May data signals a period of readjustment across the UK housing market as supply outpaces demand and economic headwinds begin to influence buyer and renter behaviour alike.
