UK Property Market Report: Q3 2026 (July to September)

Almost a third of homes that left the property portals between July and September 2026 did so without a sale agreed. Propalt's data shows 80,077 homes left Rightmove and Zoopla in Q3 2026 without a sale agreed, a withdrawal rate of 30.6%. In Q2 2026 the share was 24.9%.

Sales did not stall. Listings marked sold on Rightmove rose 1.4% on the quarter, and HMRC's seasonally adjusted count for August was 95,220 residential transactions, 2% lower than a year earlier. The UK housing market in Q3 2026 was still selling homes. It was also leaving more unsold owners behind, and taking longer to agree each sale.

This UK property market report sets out the quarter for the UK and all ten regions. What changed, where, and what does it mean for agents planning Q4 prospecting?

What happened in the UK housing market in Q3 2026?

Withdrawals rose as a share of all exits, time to sale agreed lengthened, and sold volumes held steady. The headline figures:

Measure	Q3 2026	Q2 2026	Change
Homes withdrawn without a sale agreed (national)	80,077	79,513	+0.7%
Withdrawn share of homes leaving the portals	30.6%	24.9%	+5.7 points
Days from first listing to sale agreed	69	65	+4 days
Listings sold (Rightmove, listing level)	268,468	264,709	+1.4%
New Rightmove listings reduced below first listed price	83,212	n/a	see method notes
HMRC residential transactions, August 2026 (seasonally adjusted)	95,220	n/a	2% lower year on year, 1% lower month on month
UK HPI average price, August 2026	£273,000	n/a	+0.9% year on year, +0.3% month on month

The withdrawn count barely moved while the share jumped. That means fewer homes left the portals in total in Q3, and a larger proportion of the ones that did were withdrawn unsold. For an agent, that is a bigger pool of owners who tried to sell this year and have not.

"Q3 2026 sold 1.4% more homes than Q2. It also left more owners who wanted to move still waiting to."

Which regions had the highest share of withdrawn listings?

Greater London, by a distance. 47.3% of homes leaving the portals in London in Q3 2026 were withdrawn without a sale agreed, up from 39.1% in Q2.

Region	Withdrawn, Q3 2026	Withdrawn share, Q3 2026	Withdrawn share, Q2 2026	Change (points)
Greater London	14,652	47.3%	39.1%	+8.2
South West	9,801	33.6%	26.2%	+7.4
South East	14,957	33.3%	27.1%	+6.2
East of England	9,203	32.2%	26.3%	+5.9
East Midlands	5,628	28.3%	24.5%	+3.8
Wales	3,219	27.6%	22.9%	+4.7
West Midlands	5,922	27.3%	22.0%	+5.3
North West	7,173	25.6%	20.4%	+5.2
Yorkshire	5,469	25.5%	20.7%	+4.8
North East	2,317	23.9%	18.9%	+5.0
National	80,077	30.6%	24.9%	+5.7

Every region rose. The four highest shares are all in the south and east of England, where asking prices are highest. The South West recorded the second largest rise, 7.4 points, and now sits above the South East.

The North East has the lowest withdrawn share at 23.9%, but even there the share rose by five points on the quarter.

How long did homes take to reach sale agreed in Q3 2026?

69 days nationally, four days longer than Q2. Only the North East got faster.

Region	Days to sale agreed, Q3 2026	Q2 2026	Change
South West	81	77	+4
Wales	79	73	+6
South East	76	72	+4
East of England	75	70	+5
Greater London	73	69	+4
East Midlands	73	66	+7
Yorkshire	72	69	+3
West Midlands	67	67	0
North West	66	57	+9
North East	51	55	-4
National	69	65	+4

The North West showed the sharpest slowdown, nine days longer than Q2, though at 66 days it is still quicker than the national figure. The North East was the fastest region at 51 days and the only one where time to sale agreed fell. The West Midlands held level at 67 days.

Wales is worth a second look. It was the second slowest region at 79 days, yet the UK House Price Index showed Welsh prices up 3.1% in the year to August 2026, against 0.4% for England. Prices and pace can move in different directions.

Property type matters as much as region. Nationally, semi-detached homes reached sale agreed in 59 days in Q3 2026 and terraced homes in 61, against 77 days for flats and 80 for detached homes (Propalt data). Our guide to on-market canvassing explains how to time letters to listings that run past that local figure.

Did sales volumes hold up in Q3 2026?

Yes. Listings marked sold on Rightmove rose 1.4% nationally, and eight of the ten regions recorded more sales than in Q2.

Region	Sold, Q3 2026	Sold, Q2 2026	Change
South East	42,842	42,005	+2.0%
North West	31,402	32,234	-2.6%
East of England	28,710	28,590	+0.4%
South West	28,536	27,352	+4.3%
West Midlands	23,975	23,169	+3.5%
Greater London	23,470	23,592	-0.5%
Yorkshire	23,075	23,041	+0.1%
East Midlands	21,186	21,058	+0.6%
Wales	12,204	11,755	+3.8%
North East	11,381	10,556	+7.8%
National	268,468	264,709	+1.4%

The North East combined the largest rise in sales, 7.8%, with the fastest time to sale agreed. The North West and London were the only regions with fewer sales than Q2, the North West by 2.6%.

HMRC's figures count completed transactions, which come after sale agreed, so they describe deals agreed earlier in the year. Its provisional August 2026 count was 95,220 residential transactions on a seasonally adjusted basis, 2% lower than August 2025 and 1% lower than July. The non-seasonally adjusted figure was 96,250. HMRC's September figures are due on 30 October 2026, after this report's publication date.

The gap between the two measures is long. Nationally, Propalt data puts the median time from sale agreed to the completed sale recorded by HM Land Registry at 115 days in Q3 2026: 113 days for houses and 136 days for flats. It counts only homes that sold below their asking price, and the latest quarter reads low while registrations catch up.

How many listings were reduced in Q3 2026?

83,212 new Rightmove listings in the quarter were reduced below their first listed price nationally, counted per listing. That is 17.3% of the 480,766 new Rightmove listings in Q3 2026.

Region	New Rightmove listings reduced below first listed price, Q3 2026
South East	16,598
Greater London	11,650
East of England	10,954
South West	9,194
North West	7,190
East Midlands	7,133
West Midlands	6,850
Yorkshire	5,866
Wales	3,001
North East	2,787
National	83,212

This counts new Rightmove listings in the quarter, one per listing, not homes. We have not set it against Q2. The South East has the most reduced listings in absolute terms, which partly reflects that it is the largest market by listings.

Pricing a reduced home a second time starts with the evidence. Our guide to property comparables covers how to choose sold comparables that will stand up in front of a vendor.

What do the official price figures say?

The UK HPI for August 2026, published by HM Land Registry on 21 October 2026, put the UK average price at £273,000, up 0.9% on a year earlier and 0.3% on July.

Nation	Average price, August 2026	Annual change
England	£294,000	+0.4%
Wales	£216,000	+3.1%
Scotland	£198,000	+2.9%
Northern Ireland (Q2 2026)	£202,000	+9.2%
United Kingdom	£273,000	+0.9%

The same release reported Bank of England mortgage approvals for house purchase at 54,900 in August, below the previous six-month average of 60,100. August price figures are provisional and are revised as more sales are registered.

What does Q3 2026 mean for agents planning Q4?

The withdrawn pool is the clearest opportunity. In London, nearly one in two homes leaving the portals did so unsold. In the South East, that came to 14,957 owners in a single quarter. These owners have already decided to move, have a view on price, and may be reviewing their agent.

Longer time to sale agreed also changes the conversation at the market appraisal. With the national figure at 69 days, and 81 in the South West, vendors need a pricing plan that accounts for time on market from day one.

Our market appraisal template sets out what to cover in the meeting itself.

For approaches to that pool, see our estate agent lead generation guide and the rule of seven on contact frequency. Propalt's Audience Builder includes Withdrawn, Sale Fallen Through and Reduction audiences for any patch.

Method notes

• Period. Q3 2026 covers 1 July to 30 September 2026. Q2 2026 covers 1 April to 30 June 2026. Propalt data was pulled on 26 October 2026.

• Days to sale agreed. Days from first listing to sold subject to contract, Rightmove listings.

• Sold. Rightmove listing-level count of listings marked sold. It counts listings rather than homes.

• Listings below first listed price. New Rightmove listings in the quarter that were reduced below their first listed price, counted per listing and not deduplicated by property. It is not compared across quarters here.

• Official statistics. HMRC transactions are residential transactions of £40,000 or more. UK HPI figures for August 2026 are provisional.

📌 KEY TAKEAWAY

The UK housing market in Q3 2026 kept selling: Rightmove sold listings rose 1.4% on the quarter and HMRC counted 95,220 seasonally adjusted transactions in August, 2% down on a year earlier. But 30.6% of homes leaving the portals were withdrawn unsold, up from 24.9% in Q2, rising to 47.3% in London, and homes took 69 days to reach sale agreed, up from 65. Only the North East got faster. UK HPI put the average UK price at £273,000 in August, up 0.9%. Propalt's Audience Builder turns that withdrawn pool into a list for any patch.

SOURCES & DATA REFERENCES

1. Propalt (October 2026). Quarterly market data, Q3 2026 and Q2 2026, national and ten regions (get_quarterly_market). Withdrawn count and share (national Q3: 80,077 of 261,667, 30.6%), days first listing to SSTC, Rightmove sold count, new Rightmove listings in the quarter reduced below first listed price (per listing; national Q3: 83,212 of 480,766 new Rightmove listings, 17.3%). Pulled 26 October 2026. propalt.co.uk

2. Propalt (October 2026). Quarterly market data, national, Q3 2026 (get_quarterly_market): days from first listing to SSTC by property type (semi-detached 59, terraced 61, flats 77, detached 80); median days from SSTC to HM Land Registry registration, counting only properties whose asking price was above the sold price, with the latest quarter biased low by registration lag (all 115, houses 113, flats 136). Pulled 26 October 2026.

3. HM Revenue & Customs (30 September 2026). 'UK monthly property transactions commentary.' August 2026: 95,220 seasonally adjusted residential transactions, 2% lower year on year, 1% lower month on month; 96,250 non-seasonally adjusted; next release 30 October 2026. gov.uk/government/statistics/monthly-property-transactions-completed-in-the-uk-with-value-40000-or-above/uk-monthly-property-transactions-commentary--2

4. HM Land Registry (21 October 2026). 'UK House Price Index summary: August 2026.' UK average £273,000, +0.9% annual, +0.3% monthly; England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland figures; Bank of England approvals of 54,900. gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-house-price-index-for-august-2026/uk-house-price-index-summary-august-2026

5. HM Land Registry (21 October 2026). 'UK House Price Index for August 2026' (news release). gov.uk/government/news/uk-house-price-index-for-august-2026

Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.