Nationwide’s August index put annual house price growth at 1.6%, compared with a revised 1.4% in July. The average home stood at £275,465, and prices rose 0.2% month on month once seasonal factors are stripped out. Nationwide released the figures on 1 September 2026.
One caveat before reading anything into these figures: Nationwide’s index is built entirely from owner occupier mortgage purchases. Buy to let and cash purchases are excluded, and Nationwide’s own terms state the index should not be used to measure investment performance. Treat these figures as market backdrop, not as a direct read on how investment property is pricing.
For anyone buying investment property rather than tracking the value of a home they already own, a market growing at under 2% a year is not a warning sign. It is a different set of terms, and in a flat market the terms reward whichever side has done the arithmetic.
In short
- Nationwide’s August index put annual growth at 1.6%, up from a revised 1.4% in July, with the average home at £275,465.
- Nationwide revised July’s annual figure from 1.8% to 1.4% after a system change left some cases out of its original sample.
- The North West and North led English regions at 3.9% in Q2 2026, against 0.7% across Southern England.
- About half of private renters have lived in their current home for two years or less, a sign of high turnover in the sector.
- Nationwide’s index excludes buy to let and cash purchases, so treat it as market backdrop, not a direct read on investment pricing.
What the August house price data shows
The headline numbers are modest and the detail underneath them is more interesting than the headline. Annual growth of 1.6% in August follows a revised 1.4% in July and 2.2% in June. That is not a smooth decline. It is a market moving sideways with month to month noise.
Nationwide revised its July figures after a system change meant some cases were left out of the original sample. The revision cut July’s annual growth from the 1.8% first published to 1.4%, and Nationwide said the regional data is unaffected.
The monthly figure matters more than the annual one right now. Prices were up 0.2% in August on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 0.1% fall in July on the revised figures, and Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, described annual growth as little changed. The unadjusted average price moved from £276,581 in July to £275,465 in August, a difference of £1,116 on a property costing more than a quarter of a million pounds.
Flat is the operative word. A market that is neither running away from buyers nor collapsing under them is a market where the price you negotiate matters far more than the direction of the index.
Why the market has softened
Gardner said market activity and house prices have remained subdued, in part reflecting the uncertain economic backdrop. Conflict in the Middle East is pushing up energy prices and market interest rates, and market expectations for the future path of Bank Rate have been volatile.
That volatility is the part that reaches your mortgage. Fixed rate pricing follows swap market expectations rather than the Bank Rate itself, so borrowing costs can move in a month when the Bank does nothing at all. We covered what that gap means for anyone refinancing in our note on UK interest rates and the September vote.
There is a counterweight. Gardner noted that private sector wage growth has eased further, which should give policymakers breathing space to assess how much tighter policy is necessary. He also expects activity to regain momentum in the quarters ahead if the energy shock wanes and confidence returns.
House price growth is stronger in the north of England
Nationwide publishes regional indices quarterly, and the Q2 2026 data, released with the June index on 1 July 2026, shows all thirteen regions in positive territory, with all but one growing between 0% and 4%. England as a whole grew 1.5%, against 2.2% for the UK over the same quarter.
Northern England averaged 3.1%, led by the North West and the North at 3.9% each.
The south is where growth has stalled, averaging 0.7% across Southern England. Outer South East managed 0.1%, Outer Metropolitan and East Anglia 0.3% each, and London 1.6%.
| English region (Q2 2026) | Annual growth | Average price |
|---|---|---|
| North West | 3.9% | £231,415 |
| North | 3.9% | £173,756 |
| West Midlands | 3.2% | £256,592 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 2.9% | £217,518 |
| East Midlands | 1.8% | £240,482 |
| London | 1.6% | £540,903 |
| South West | 0.7% | £310,429 |
| East Anglia | 0.3% | £274,375 |
| Outer Metropolitan | 0.3% | £432,173 |
| Outer South East | 0.1% | £341,175 |
| England | 1.5% | £315,208 |
Outside England, Northern Ireland again grew fastest at 8.6%, around four times the 2.2% UK rate for the quarter, and Scotland rose 3.5%.
The pattern is consistent and it is not new: capital growth has moved north while the south absorbs higher absolute prices and thinner returns. That has direct consequences for where income based strategies work.
How long tenants actually stay
Nationwide’s July index also carried tenure data from the English Housing Survey. The average time spent in a home is around 14 years. Those who own outright average nearly 24 years, with about a third staying 30 years or more.
Private renters are at the other end entirely. Around half of private rented sector households have been in their current property for two years or less.
That points to high turnover in the private rented sector, although it is a snapshot of current renters rather than a measure of how quickly tenants leave. Letting costs, re-let voids and wear belong in your model, not in the edge cases. Investors who underwrite on twelve months of gross rent with no turnover allowance are underwriting a property that does not exist.
What this means for property investors
A flat capital market changes what has to do the work. When prices were compounding, a mediocre entry price was forgiven by growth. At 1.6% a year, capital growth alone adds little, so the return has to come from income and from the discount you negotiate on the way in.
Three practical consequences follow. Entry price carries more of the return, because you cannot rely on the index to bail out an overpayment. Income quality matters more than headline yield, and the tenure data above is a reminder that turnover is a real cost. And regional selection is no longer a rounding error when the gap between the fastest and slowest English regions is nearly four percentage points.
None of that argues for sitting out. Soft markets are where negotiation works, because both sides are pricing against evidence rather than against momentum. It argues for buying on numbers that survive a flat market, rather than numbers that need a rising one.
If you own a property and are weighing up selling, get a free desktop valuation: an evidence-backed range within 24 hours, yours whether you sell or not.
You can see what we currently have available on our investment property listings, or read our note on landlords selling up in 2026 for the supply side of the same picture. For the fuller regional and index-by-index picture, including where prices are still falling, see our regularly updated guide on whether house prices are going down in the UK.
BlackBook Investments is a property investment broker, not a mortgage, tax or investment adviser. Nothing here is a recommendation on any product or on your position. Take regulated advice before acting.