October Market Update

September raced by, with people enjoying the last days of summer and families readjusting to school terms again. With so much going on, you may have missed the latest property news. Here’s what we learnt last month.

1) House prices on hold: the latest Zoopla house price index made great reading for purchasers hoping to avoid runaway house prices. Value fluctuations have been minimal in the last three months, with the UK average house price static in the region of £270,500.

Monthly figure hiding annual trends

2) Northerly influences noted: although annual house price inflation is running at 1.4%, the North West is leading the charge with a yearly value increase of 3.1%. More specifically, Kirkcaldy, Oldham, Tweeddale, Motherwell and Llandrindod Wells saw values increase by more than 4%.

Value increases by house type revealed

3) Bigger was better: Zoopla illustrated how the value of different sized homes had changed during the last three months. It was semi-detached and detached houses that saw the biggest price increase value, increasing by £7,090 and £6,850, respectively.

4) Freehold premium revealed: a Property Reported article revealed buyers of freehold properties pay a 29.6% premium. The figures, compiled using Land Registry data, found the average freehold home was £310,000. This compares to £230,000 for a comparable leasehold property.

5) Stations added value: living near a tube, tram or train station still adds value to a property. A new survey by Nationwide found buyers in London pay £42,700 more for a property that’s 500m from a station, when compared to one 1,500m away. The station premium was also identified in Manchester (£10,900) and Glasgow (£8,800).

6) UK’s average rent exceeded £1,300: HomeLet’s most recent rental index showed the UK’s monthly rent had inched up again. A 1.1% increase means newly agreed tenancies cost a monthly average of £1,328. This was the highest rate of monthly growth recorded in 2025. HomeLet did find variations across the UK. Wales (+0.1%) and the East of England (+0.3%) had the weakest growth. Greater London (+2.2%) and the North East (+1.3%) recorded the biggest month-on-month increases.

7)  Pockets of affordability revealed: Zoopla used September to analyse where it was cheapest to rent in the UK. The North East offered the best value for money, with an average monthly rent of £748. Burnley, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Hull and Grimsby were the cheapest cities, with rents below £700 per month.

Northern locations offered opportunities

8 ) Best yields pinpointed: Zoopla’s examination of the current rental market also allowed it to identify areas with the best yields. The top 17 UK cities were all in the North of England and Scotland, with landlords in Sunderland enjoying yields of 9.3%. Yields of 8% or greater were also noted in Aberdeen, Burnley, Dundee, Middlesborough and Hull.

9) Southern stars highlighted: landlords in the South can still find great returns if they invest wisely. The coastal locations of Plymouth, Gosport, Southampton and Portsmouth returned average gross yields of 6.4%. In London, Barking & Dagenham took top spot, with a 6.22% gross yield.

Staying put

10) Mass exodus not predicted: a new survey conducted by Landbay found sentiment among landlords is high. Of those polled, 58% of landlords had no plans to sell in the next year. This was up on the 47% recorded last year.

11) Stronger buying intentions noted: as well as not selling, landlords are considering purchasing additional buy-to-lets. The survey found 52% of landlords planned to acquire new rental properties in the next 12 months – up from 27% in the previous survey.

If you would like to know more about your local property market, please get in touch.