UK house price inflation rebounds from 18-month low
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Wednesday 22 Apr 2026
(Sharecast News) - The annual rate of house price growth across the UK picked up slightly in February, according to data from the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday, while the latest rent inflation figures showed a slowdown.
House prices across England, Wales and Scotland averaged £268,000 over the 12 months to February, a 1.2% increase over last year, the ONS said.
That's up from the 1.0% annual gain seen in January, which was the lowest rate since August 2024, but still well below the 1.9% and 3.0% increases registered in December and November, respectively.
Average house prices increased 0.8% to £290,000 in England, 2.5% to £210,000 in Wales, and 2.3% to £187,000 in Scotland.
Among English regions, the North continues to see the highest rates of growth, led by Yorkshire and the Humber (+3.9%), the North East (+3.6%) and North West (+3.4%).
Southern regions all saw prices fall, led by London where deflation accelerated to -3.3% from -1.9% previously. Prices also declined year-on-year in the South East (-0.9%) and South West (-0.6%).
The ONS also published rental data for for March, showing that average monthly private rents across the UK rose 3.4% year-on-year to £1,377, slowing slightly from the 3.6% gain registered in February.
Rents averaged £1,434 in England (+3.4%), £830 in Wales (+4.8%) and £1,022 in Scotland (+2.1%). The most recent Northern Ireland data, which only captured the market in January, showed a 5.0% gain in rents to £880.
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