A recent market phenomenon has been a rising stock of unsold properties. A decline in property exchanges has reverberated throughout the UK property market, driven largely by consumers exercising circumspection amid concerns over mortgage rates and price stability.
‘By historic standards,’ Andrew Lloyd, the managing director at Search Acumen, said, ‘this slowdown in deals is significant at a particularly delicate moment for the market’ because the ‘housing market is absorbing an extraordinary number of shocks at once.’
Sales Statistics
According to PropertyData, the monthly sales turnover has declined across most regions of the UK over the past year. For England, the average monthly turnover rate has fallen from 17% to 14%. A steep decline was observed in the North East from 24% to 20%, although it should be noted that it remains the best performing region in England.
Moreover, the East of England declined from 14% to 12%, a trajectory like the drop noticed in the West Midlands and the South East. While Wales was the only area to avoid a drop, with the turnaround holding at 13%, the turnover in London has declined from 12% to 9%.
The UK property market has witnessed 593,000 new listings year-to-date by late April 2026. It signals a 0.9% decline compared to the same period in 2025, but it is 7.1% above the 2024 levels. Taking a closer look at net residential sales, the year-to-date amounted to 308,000, down 3.2% from 219 in 2025, but up 4.7% compared to 2024.
Exchange data for the first quarter of 2026 showed 214,000 completions by the end of March, which is a 13% decline from the 246,000 completed exchanges recorded in mid-March 2025.
Crucially, approximately 46.6% of properties that left estate agents’ records in March 2026 were withdrawn unsold. The average difference between listing prices and sales agreed prices stood at 25.2%, above the long-term ten-year average of 17%.
Yet it is important to emphasise that average property prices rose 0.4% month-on-month in April following a 0.9% increase in the previous month; the average house cost now stands at £278,880. Likewise, the Bank of England reported that mortgage approvals for property purchases increased to 63,500 in April from 62,700 in March.
Although Robert Gardner, the chief economist of Nationwide, argued that the ‘market is likely being supported by the relative strength of household finances’, data company GfK indicated that the UK consumer confidence declined in April to its lowest level since October 2023. Neil Bellamy, the consumer insights director at GfK, said: ‘Consumers really do have the jitters now’.
Industry Reactions
Colby Short, the CEO of GetAgent, commented: ‘At a headline level, there’s still plenty of activity in the market, but the pace at which homes are selling has clearly slowed over the last year. That’s leaving many agents with pipelines that look healthy on paper, but take longer to convert into completed deals, which puts real pressure on time, resources and ultimately cashflow.’
Short advised: ‘The agents performing best in the current climate tend to be those who are pricing realistically from the outset and qualifying sellers carefully.’
Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, argued that the ramifications from the Middle East conflict are ‘unmistakeable,’ adding: ‘The 41% drop in transactions in March came at a time when momentum is normally building. The initial shock has faded but mortgage rates have jumped around in recent weeks given the confused outlook around the length of the conflict and to what extent it could escalate.’
Yet Anthony Codling, a head researcher at RBC Capital Markets, argued that ‘March 2026 housing transactions have returned to earth after last year’s scramble for the exit’, explaining: ‘At 104,070 seasonally adjusted transactions, the UK market looks almost normal – 5% above the five-year average and 1.3% up month-on-month.’
But it is widely acknowledged that year-on-year sales have slowed down over this year, and the noticeable increases in cases of sales falling through have caused concern among estate agents regarding the demand for acquiring property.
Growing Backlog
Sales across the country have declined. Although listings have remained stable, consumers have been hesitant to take the step in purchasing property. Furthermore, consumers who have been looking to acquire property have demonstrated greater willingness to withdraw from completing the transaction, partly as a result of completion timeframes becoming increasingly longer.
Because of this sentiment shift identified by many consumers, unsold property backlogs are increasing for many estate agents. Successfully finalising sales has been particularly difficult over the past quarter.
