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

UK Property Sales Remain Resilient Amid Economic Uncertainty

UK property sales continued to show resilience in week 20 of 2026, with 27,200 homes sold subject to contract. This figure is slightly higher than the previous week’s 27,000 and remains above both the 10-year week 20 average of 25,300 and the 2026 weekly average of 24,900.

Cumulative sales for 2026 reached 499,000 homes sold subject to contract by week 20. This is a decrease from 527,000 in the same period of 2025, but a 3% increase on 2024’s year-to-date total of 484,000 and 11.2% above the pre-pandemic 2017-19 average of 449,000.

New property listings for the week totalled 39,600, down from 41,800 the previous week but still above the 2026 weekly average of 37,600. Year-to-date listings reached 753,000, slightly ahead of 2025’s 747,000 and 6.6% higher than 2024’s 706,000.

Price Reductions and Market Dynamics

Price reductions affected 27,200 properties during the week, with 13.1% of the UK’s 731,000 homes for sale reduced in April 2026. This compares to a 2025 average of 12.8% and a six-year average of 10.7%. The gap between initial listing prices and agreed sale prices widened to 21.6%, above the long-term 10-year average of 16-17%. Average listing prices stood at £447,000, while average agreed prices were £368,000.

Market stock levels reached 731,000 homes on 1 May 2026, up from 714,000 a year earlier. The sales pipeline contained 461,000 homes, slightly higher than the 447,000 recorded in May 2025.

Exchanges, Completions, and Fall-Throughs

April 2026 saw 73,900 exchanges, up from 69,400 in April 2025. Year-to-date exchanges to the end of April totalled 288,000, down from 314,000 in the same period of 2025. The fall-through rate stood at 22.5%, below the decade average of 24.5%. In April 2026, 5.1% of homes sold subject to contract fell through, lower than both the 2025 average of 5.3% and the 10-year average of 5.8%.

Net sales for week 20 reached 21,000, matching the 10-year average and the 2026 weekly average of 19,500. Year-to-date net sales totalled 390,000, down 3.3% on 2025 but 2.9% ahead of 2024.

Rental Market Trends

The rental sector showed minimal movement, with average rents in May 2026 at £1,780 per calendar month, virtually unchanged from £1,779 in May 2025. Rental stock available stood at 302,000 properties in April 2026, compared to 303,000 a year earlier. The sector continues to face challenges from fragmented data systems and changes to rental legislation.

Price Performance and Sell-Through Rates

Properties with agreed sales in April 2026 averaged £345.18 per square foot, a 1.8% increase on the previous year and 11.3% higher than five years ago. The sell-through rate stood at 14.6% in April 2026, down from 15.5% in March 2026 and slightly below the pre-pandemic average of 15.5%. April withdrawals totalled 62,800, up from 61,000 in April 2025, with 45.9% of all homes leaving estate agents’ books in April going unsold. The probability of selling reached 54.1% in April 2026, below the seven-year average of 57.6%.