Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Property Industry Eye. Read the original article for full details.

UK Housing Market Shows Signs of Stabilisation in July 2026

The UK housing market may be showing early signs of stabilising after several subdued months, according to the latest figures reported for July 2026. The slowdown in sales has eased, with the monthly gap in agreed sales narrowing to 5.2% below 2025 levels, compared to a 10% gap since Easter.

Net sales, which account for fall-throughs, have also strengthened over the past fortnight, contrary to the usual seasonal trend of slowing activity during the summer. However, it remains unclear whether this improvement marks the start of a sustained recovery or is simply a temporary uptick.

Regional Sales Performance

The July figures reveal that the number of homes sold subject to contract across the UK was 5.2% lower than in July 2025. However, sales were 13.6% higher than in July 2023, when the market was affected by rising mortgage rates and weakened buyer confidence.

Regional data shows varied performance:

• East Midlands: down 3.9% vs 2025, up 20.3% vs 2023
• East of England: down 2.7% vs 2025, up 21.1% vs 2023
• London: down 4.4% vs 2025, up 5.6% vs 2023
• North East: down 4.4% vs 2025, up 12.3% vs 2023
• North West: down 9.5% vs 2025, up 15.3% vs 2023
• Scotland: up 0.3% vs 2025, up 15.7% vs 2023 (the only region with annual growth)
• South East: down 5.9% vs 2025, up 12.9% vs 2023
• South West: down 3.1% vs 2025, up 11.5% vs 2023
• Wales: down 4.9% vs 2025, up 11.9% vs 2023
• West Midlands: down 6.0% vs 2025, up 14.4% vs 2023
• Yorkshire and the Humber: down 7.4% vs 2025, up 11.0% vs 2023

Nationally, most regions are seeing fewer sales agreed than in July 2025, but all are ahead of 2023 levels except for Scotland, which recorded growth compared to both years.

Listings and Market Activity

In week 29 of 2026, there were 33.6k new listings, slightly down from 33.8k the previous week. The year-to-date total for new listings stands at 1.069 million, identical to 2025 and 4.1% ahead of 2024. Gross residential sales for the same week were 24k, close to the 10-year average of 24.8k.

For letting agents and inventory clerks, the data suggests that while the market has cooled from 2025, it is performing better than in 2023. Properties that are well presented, marketed properly, and sensibly priced continue to attract interest, while buyers have more choice and are less forgiving of unrealistic asking prices.