UK house prices up 1.2%, rents cool to 3.4%: ONS April 2026 release

The Office for National Statistics today released its combined house price and private rent bulletin for April 2026. UK house price annual inflation edged up to 1.2% in the 12 months to February (provisional), while private rent annual inflation cooled to 3.4% — its joint-lowest reading since 2022.

The numbers reinforce a now-familiar divergence: asset prices holding despite affordability pressure, with rent growth continuing its gradual deceleration from 2024 peaks.

The headline numbers

Rent inflation: cooling, but uneven

The joint-lowest UK rent inflation reading since March 2022 will be welcome news to the estimated 4.6 million private-renter households. But the headline national figure masks material regional divergence: the North East continues to lead at 6.5% annual growth, reflecting a low-base effect combined with sustained demand from relocations and the rental-stock shortage.

London at 1.7% reflects saturation in the capital market, the impact of returning overseas landlords (some liquidating post-2024 tax changes), and the cooling in professional and tech-sector job creation. The sub-2% London print is significant for affordability calculations: a London tenant renting at £2,280 per month (the current city average) is seeing cash rent grow £39 annually at 1.7%, compared with north-eastern tenants whose £695 average rent is rising £45 annually at 6.5%.

House prices: the divergence question

House prices continue to grow, but the broader transaction environment is cautious. Zoopla's March index reports that buyer enquiries are running 13% below last year while sales agreed are just 2% below — a gap that suggests the market is being sustained by a smaller pool of committed buyers rather than by broad-based demand.

Roughly a quarter of sales in the Zoopla index are cash purchases. That share tends to rise when mortgage-rate-sensitive demand weakens, supporting headline transaction volume even as overall buyer interest cools. In practical terms this means that any further repricing of mortgage rates — likely given today's CPI print — could feed through into prices with a lag rather than immediately.

What this means for the market

For sellers, the environment remains transactable — well-priced homes continue to sell — but overpriced listings sit. Buyer selectivity is elevated. For buy-to-let landlords, the cooling rent growth combined with rising mortgage costs is squeezing yields in the regions where the business case depended on rent inflation staying above 5%. For first-time buyers, the modest house price firming is bad news, but the combination of cooling rents and rising wages is gradually improving the rent-vs-buy cost differential in a handful of regional markets.

Methodology note

From today's release, ONS has introduced "linkage improvements" to its annual house price processing, and revised weights for properties with missing characteristics in the regression model. These have led to small revisions in HPI levels dating back to January 2025. The methodology change is technical and was flagged in the 17 December 2025 platform migration; it does not materially alter the overall trajectory of the index.

Frequently asked questions

What did ONS report for UK house prices in February 2026?

Per the ONS Private rent and house prices bulletin released 22 April 2026, the average UK house price rose 1.2% in the 12 months to February 2026, reaching £268,000 (provisional estimate). This is up from 1.0% annual growth in the 12 months to January, so the price trend is firming slightly.

What did rents do?

Average UK private rent inflation cooled to 3.4% in the 12 months to March 2026, down from 3.6% in the 12 months to February. In cash terms the average UK rent was £1,377. England averaged £1,434 (3.4%), Wales £830 (4.8%), Scotland £1,022 (2.1%) and Northern Ireland £880 (5.0%).

Which regions saw the biggest rent rises?

Within England, rent inflation was highest in the North East at 6.5% annually, and lowest in London at 1.7% — a continued pattern of the cheaper regional markets leading the rise and the capital lagging. London's cooling matters because London tenants face the highest cash rents, so small percentage changes translate into meaningful real-terms relief.

Is the market slowing or stabilising?

The ONS figures tell one story — a slight firming. Industry indices tell another. Zoopla reports buyer enquiries running 13% below prior year in March, but sales agreed only 2% below. That gap — weaker demand, resilient transactions — suggests a smaller pool of committed buyers is keeping volume up while the broader market is more cautious.