More than a third of homes for sale are in postcode areas where house prices are falling, according to new analysis.
The combination of a high number of properties for sale and elevated mortgage rates is putting downward pressure on the housing market, the research by Zoopla found.
Annual house prices fell in 37 out of the 119 postcode areas the property portal tracks between September 2025 and September 2026, with the majority of these areas in southern England and London.
Start your trial of MoneyWeek today
Get unparalleled financial insight, analysis and expert opinion you can profit from.
Start your trial
Sign up for MoneyWeek’s free twice-daily newsletter.
Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
However, the picture is different in other parts of the UK, with property values rising by up to 5.8% in regions like Northern Ireland, Scotland and north west England.
Latest Videos FromMoneyWeek
Zoopla said house prices are rising in these regions as properties are generally worth less compared to the south of England and the impact of higher mortgage rates isn’t felt as strongly.
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “The extra cost of mortgages has made home buyers more selective while greater choice of homes for sale has increased the scope to negotiate on price.
“The impact is being felt by sellers in southern England where house price falls are most concentrated as average prices continue to rise across the rest of the country.”
The postcode areas where house prices are falling
House prices fell in four regions in the year to September 2026, according to Zoopla’s analysis: London, south east England, east of England and south west England.
On a local level, just 10 out of the 37 postcode areas where property values dropped were outside the south of England and London.
House prices fell the most in west central London, steeply declining by 5.7%. They also fell by 4.3% in Llandrindod Wells, Wales.
In east central London, property values decreased by 3.8% in the year to September, and by 2.2% over the same period in Truro, south west England.
Zoopla’s analysis found 85% of homes in London and the south east of England are in postcode areas where property prices fell year-on-year.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
The 37 postcodes where house prices have fallen on an annual basis
Area
Region
Average price September 2026
Change in year to September 2026
Redhill
South East
£440,700
-0.1%
Hereford
West Midlands
£295,300
-0.1%
Slough
South East
£493,100
-0.2%
Uxbridge
London
£419,800
-0.2%
Enfield
East of England
£447,000
-0.2%
Peterborough
East of England
£243,100
-0.2%
St Albans
East of England
£520,700
-0.3%
Ilford
London
£436,200
-0.3%
Dorchester
South West
£318,400
-0.3%
Luton
East of England
£299,700
-0.3%
Norwich
East of England
£259,300
-0.3%
Twickenham
London
£501,500
-0.5%
South East London
London
£458,900
-0.5%
Reading
South East
£415,700
-0.5%
Guildford
South East
£469,900
-0.6%
Cambridge
East of England
£401,500
-0.8%
Colchester
East of England
£295,500
-0.8%
North London
London
£570,800
-0.9%
Ipswich
East of England
£285,300
-0.9%
Tunbridge Wells
South East
£404,000
-1%
Portsmouth
South East
£289,500
-1%
Croydon
London
£395,700
-1.1%
Brighton
South East
£364,000
-1.1%
Canterbury
South East
£296,900
-1.1%
East London
London
£467,400
-1.2%
Harrow
London
£500,200
-1.3%
West London
London
£746,200
-1.4%
Exeter
South West
£299,500
-1.4%
Sutton
London
£450,700
-1.5%
South West London
London
£698,800
-1.7%
Bournemouth
South West
£340,700
-1.7%
Torquay
South West
£287,300
-1.8%
North West London
London
£613,000
-2.2%
Truro
South West
£306,200
-2.2%
East Central London
London
£658,000
-3.8%
Llandrindod Wells
Wales
£247,700
-4.3%
West Central London
London
£786,000
-5.7%
Source: Zoopla
Stamp duty reform ‘could support buyers and sellers’
Donnell from Zoopla said the government could do a number of things to stimulate the housing market in the 2026 Autumn Budget.
He said the biggest boost it could provide would be to “create the conditions” for lower mortgage rates. If they went below 5%, activity would pick up again, he said.
The average two-year fix (on 27 October) is 5.97%, up from 4.83% on 27 February, a day before the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, sparking the war.
Zoopla research suggests extending the 2% rate to properties worth up to £500,000, from £250,000 currently, could save home movers up to £7,500 while similar reforms for first-time buyers could save them up to £6,000.
Donnell said SDLT changes “could support buyers and sellers, particularly in southern England where transaction costs are highest”.
House prices have slipped by 2.2% year-on-year in Truro, Cornwall
(Image credit: Ianwool via Getty Images)
How to sell your home in the current market
The first key thing to do to sell a home in a buyer’s market is to set the right asking price.
Zoopla analysis found that of the homes listed for sale between April and June 2026, 41% listed 5% or more below their estimated value found a buyer within 90 days, versus just 26% of those priced at least 20% above their estimated value.
It’s crucial to price well the first time around too. Zoopla also found just 19% of homes that had asking prices reduced sold within 90 days, compared to 41% of those where the sellers didn’t have to reduce the asking price.
How you present your home is also important. Tidying gardens, cleaning windows and ensuring outdoor spaces are well-lit will create a strong first impression.
Inside the home, make sure to declutter, check rooms are bright and spacious and address any minor issues such as leaking taps or flickering lights.
James Waight, head of sales at estate agent John D Wood and Co., said: “With competition between properties increasing, small improvements can make a real difference to how a home is perceived.”
Presentation of your home extends to how it will be perceived on estate agents’ and property portals’ websites too.
Waight added: “High quality photography, an engaging description and flexibility around viewings can help attract a wider pool of potential buyers. Sellers should also listen carefully to feedback from viewings and be prepared to respond if buyers consistently raise the same concerns.”
Just the Tip: Most employer-provided life insurance covers one to two times your annual salary. The guideline is 10-12 times your income to replace earnings and cover debts, childcare, and future expenses for dependents. Supplement your employer coverage with a personal term policy you own, one that doesn’t disappear if you change jobs. Subscribe for…
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Key Takeaways Your leadership instincts aren’t flaws, but the challenge is recognizing when you’re the candidate rather than the leader and adjusting how you communicate. With practice, either by yourself or alongside a trained professional, you can learn to notice what interviewers hear that you no longer…
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Key Takeaways Lessons can lose their meaning when simplified. Turning a complex, conditional judgment into a clear rule can strip away the context that made the original decision correct. Even when knowledge, documents and people remain in place, teams may follow an old rule when the underlying…
Wall Street loves McDonald’s. But its CEO isn’t celebrating with a Happy Meal. The chain earned $2.36 billion in the second quarter, beating Wall Street’s adjusted earnings estimate, but same-store sales in the U.S. grew only 0.8%, a steep drop from last year’s 2.5% increase, AP reports. CEO Chris Kempczinski said the company’s strategy wasn’t…
(This is the Warren Buffett Watch newsletter, news and analysis on all things Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. You can sign up here to receive it every Friday evening in your inbox.) Berkshire reveals nearly doubled stake in slumping homebuilder Berkshire Hathaway has increased its bet on a long-term recovery for the struggling U.S. housing…
Just the data in this post. Japanese PPI July 2026 will add to the case for a September BOJ rate hike: +7.2% y/y vs. expected +7.4% and prior + 7.1% +0.1% m/m vs. expected +0.6% and prior +0.4% I’ll have more to come on this separately. This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.
