House prices edged up £518 in June, according to latest figures from Lloyds Bank.

It says the typical home rose in value by 0.2 per cent last month to £299,330, although still short of the £300,283 peak reached in January.

Compared to a year ago, the average property price is 0.6 per cent higher than it was in June 2025.

'It's hardly the stuff of headlines, but the direction of travel matters more than the pace right now,' says Anthony Codling, a property analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

'After a choppy few months shaped by global uncertainty, tariff-driven inflation anxiety and the resulting rate volatility, June's data offers a tentative but welcome signal that the market is finding its footing. 

'Affordability remains stretched, and activity data from the Bank of England and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors points to a buyer pool that is hesitant rather than energised. 

'But with mortgage rates pulling back from their recent peaks and the first-time buyer market showing genuine resilience, the seeds of a more confident second half of 2026 are being sown.'

Where prices are rising and falling? 

The 0.6 per cent average rise is being dragged down by the South East, where average prices are down 2 per cent as well as the South West, East and Greater London, all down by more than 1 per cent.

The average is being held up by prices further north, with values in the North West, up 2.4 per cent to £248,218 and prices in the North East up 2.8 per cent compared to a year ago. The typical home there is now £181,133.

And in Scotland, where prices are up 3.9 per cent and Northern Ireland where prices continue to boom, up 7.4 per cent on last year.

Jonathan Hopper, chief executive of buying agents Garrington Property Finders says that while the recovery is still tentative, Britain's North-South divide is back in force.

'Property prices are again heading in opposite directions at opposite ends of the country,' said Hopper.

'In southern areas a glut of supply is attracting too few serious buyers, and this is steadily driving prices down. 

'Buyers are often able to ask for, and get, reductions on the asking price. Sellers putting their home on the market now must rein in their price expectations or risk seeing it languish unsold.

'In the north the forces of supply and demand are more balanced, and this is helping prices to rise steadily.' 

Hopper added: 'The north's rate of growth could accelerate further under a Burnham premiership, and buyer sentiment here is already lifting at the prospect of huge government investment and job creation.

'It's too early to talk of the market bouncing back. As for the North-South divide, it never really went away and now looks likely to grow further.'

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Lloyds, added: 'For first-time buyers, annual price growth increased to 0.8 per cent in June from 0.3 per cent in May, with the average first-time buyer property now costing £240,433, suggesting demand remains resilient.

'Looking ahead, we expect the housing market to continue moving at a measured pace. 

'Lower borrowing costs should provide some support for demand, though affordability constraints remain an important factor. 

'The outlook for house prices will depend largely on inflation continuing to ease and household confidence gradually improving.'