# UK home sales stagnant last month but housing market shows ‘resilience’

By Sarah Coles — 2026-08-28

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, explains the reasons behind home sales declining in July.

She said: “The property market is clinging on, but it’s looking decidedly peaky, with sales falling two per cent in a month and delivering less than the average (median) July figure over the past decade.

“It’s not a dramatic drop, which is impressive given what has been happening over the three-to-four months since most of these sales were agreed.

“The conflict in Iran has been driving volatile oil prices, which in turn have pushed up inflation and mortgage rates. And although consumer confidence has been rising in the past couple of months, it spent most of 2026 in a pretty depressed state.

“Sales have been supported by the fact that sluggish house prices are making property marginally more affordable. Lloyds data from July shows house prices were static, and that annual price growth has dropped to just 0.1 per cent – the slowest rate in three years. Rising wages are bringing properties within reach for some buyers.

“There’s a lot of property for sale at the moment, so sellers are being realistic. Rightmove data shows average asking prices are falling and surveyors in the RICS Residential Market Survey say existing prices are being cut, as sellers try to attract new interest. This is keeping properties moving, despite relatively low demand.

“It means buyers can negotiate harder at the moment, and there are some decent deals to be done.

“For sellers, meanwhile, this kind of market may mean getting less for your property than you’d hoped. You may be able to negotiate a deal on the property you’re buying too, but it’s not guaranteed.

“It’s why it’s worth building your financial resilience as much as possible before putting your house on the market.

“If you have a decent emergency savings safety net in a competitive easy access account, it means discounting the property slightly is less of a deal breaker than if you’re financially running on empty.”

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