UK House Prices Rise 2.7 Per Cent to £271,000 as Rent Growth Holds Steady

ONS figures show annual house price growth slowed sharply in May 2026 while private rents continued rising at 3.3 per cent, reaching £1,383 a month.

Average UK house prices grew by 2.7 per cent to £271,000 in the 12 months to May 2026, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics — down from 3.9 per cent in the year to April 2026. The ONS says this was the highest annual house price inflation rate since March 2025, before stamp duty land tax changes came into force on 1 April 2025, which had distorted earlier figures.

Private rents tell a different story. The figures show average UK private rents rose 3.3 per cent to £1,383 a month in the 12 months to May 2026, easing slightly from 3.5 per cent in the year to April 2026. That’s still above general inflation in many parts of the country, and the ONS data shows the pressure is not evenly spread — England saw rents rise 3.4 per cent, Wales 4.7 per cent, and Scotland just 1.0 per cent in the same period.

For Kent households, no county-level figures appear in this bulletin. But the South East’s proximity to London means national trends in mortgage pricing and rental demand tend to feed through quickly into local affordability. Buyers watching the market will note that Nationwide reported annual UK house price growth of only 1.7 per cent in May 2026, compared with the ONS figure of 2.7 per cent — a gap that reflects the two indices measuring different parts of the market rather than any contradiction in the data.

Renters face the sharper end of these numbers. Annual rent increases of 3.3 per cent on a £1,383 average mean a typical tenant is paying around £44 more each month than a year ago.

The ONS publishes this data monthly as part of its Private Rent and House Prices, UK bulletin, which feeds into government affordability assessments and local council housing planning across England.