The UK property market has bounced back after last week’s unexpected drop in sales agreed, with 24.4k homes sold subject to contract in Week 32, up from 21.7k the week before.
This increase brings the market closer to where it’s expected to be at this point in August, suggesting last week’s fall may have been a temporary setback due to the hot weather or summer slowdown.
Market trends indicate the market remains price sensitive.
Half of the homes leaving estate agents’ books still withdraw unsold, while four out of five homes listed and sold so far in 2026 achieved that sale without needing a price reduction, emphasizing the importance of getting the pricing strategy right from the beginning.
Iain White, a seasoned property industry operator, joins the discussion to analyze the numbers and graphs, and explore where estate agents are getting it right and wrong.
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The main stats for Week 32 show 32.6k new listings, 0.3% lower than 2025 YTD, but 3.2% ahead of 2024 YTD and 10.5% higher than the 2017-19 average YTD.
24.4k homes were sold subject to contract, 7.1% lower than 2025 YTD, but 10.8% higher than 2023 YTD and 6% higher than the pre-Covid 2017-19 years.
18.2k net sales were recorded, 4.2% above the 2017-19 average, with 79.6k exchanges in July 2026 and 76.3k withdrawals in the same period.
Only 51% of homes that left agents’ books exchanged and completed in July, with the rest withdrawing unsold, indicating they are still struggling to find buyers.
The seven-year average exchange to listings ratio is 57.6%, including the post-lockdown years, which they use as a benchmark.
Pricing and sales data show the price difference between the asking price of listings and the asking price of homes that went sold subject to contract is 9.9%, lower than the long-term ten-year average of 16-17%.
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The average rent in Week 32 was £1,780 pcm, with an average rent of £1,805 pcm in August 2026, compared to £1,800 pcm in August 2025 and £1,394 pcm in August 2021, indicating a steady increase.
New rental properties coming onto the market in July 2026 totaled 135,928, up from 128,821 in July 2025 and 111,080 in July 2022.
Estate agents in Oxford were compared using data to determine who is the best estate agent in the city, in terms of market share, exchanges, and withdrawals.
The average price per square foot at sale agreed in July 2026 was £345.41, 1.2% higher than 12 months ago and 11.9% higher than five years ago, showing a steady growth.
The HM Land Registry Index shows a 98% accuracy match with the sale agreed price per square foot, five months in advance, which it uses to predict future trends.
