SUMMARY OF REPORT

Headline UK picture

UK house-price inflation has slowed to 0.8% annually, the lowest rate for more than two years. At the same time, sales agreed are 9% lower than a year ago, while the stock of homes for sale has risen 5%, meaning buyers have more choice and sellers face more competition.

A major factor is mortgage costs. A typical 75% LTV five-year fixed mortgage had risen to around 5.2% by the end of September, compared with 4% at the start of 2026. Zoopla calculates that this adds approximately £150 a month—or £1,800 a year—to the average buyer’s mortgage costs.

Scotland is outperforming much of the UK

This is probably the strongest story for your Fife audience.

While sales agreed are down 9% across the UK, Scotland is down only 1%, with the stock of properties for sale up just 3%. This makes Scotland considerably more resilient than many other parts of Britain.

Scottish house prices are also performing relatively strongly. The regional map on page 4 shows annual Scottish house-price growth of 2.6%, compared with just 0.8% across the UK.

Perhaps the standout statistic is this:

Around 75% of homes listed for sale in Scotland in Q2 found a buyer within three months.

That’s compared with roughly half in northern England and only 30% in London. Zoopla links Scotland’s stronger performance partly to better affordability.

Houses are outperforming flats

There’s an increasing divide between houses and flats. House-price growth remains positive, particularly in more affordable regions, whereas UK flat prices have been falling year-on-year since May 2025.

Scotland and the North East are notable exceptions, with flat prices holding up better than elsewhere.

Buyers haven’t disappeared — they’ve become more selective

This is an important distinction in the report. Zoopla says there is still plenty of demand, but buyers are more cautious about what they view and what they offer.

That puts greater importance on getting the asking price right from the outset, particularly when buyers have more properties from which to choose. Zoopla specifically argues that national averages only tell part of the story and sellers need to understand local demand, affordability and competing stock.

Outlook for the rest of 2026

Zoopla expects a relatively cautious end to the year. It forecasts UK house-price inflation drifting towards approximately 0.5% by year-end, with around 1.1 million sales during 2026.

City figures

The city table on page 5 reinforces how different individual markets have become. Glasgow is up 2.6% annually, with an average price of £167,500, while Edinburgh is up 1.6%, averaging £284,900. By comparison, London is down 1.0%, Cambridge 1.3%, and Bournemouth 2.1%.

The key message I would take from this for Fife is: the UK market is slowing under the weight of higher mortgage costs, but Scotland is proving considerably more resilient. Buyers are still there, but with more choice they can afford to be selective—which makes accurate pricing and strong marketing increasingly important for sellers.