Zoopla’s October 2026 House Price Index shows a divided picture: prices still rose across the UK overall, but the latest annual declines were recorded in 37 of the 119 postal areas covered. Those areas contain around 35% of UK homes, according to Zoopla. That measure describes the share of homes located in postcode areas where prices fell; it does not mean that 35% of individual properties lost value.
The index puts the average UK house price at £273,100 in September 2026, up 0.8% (£2,200) over the year. The national average masks differences between property types and regions. Zoopla reports annual growth of 1.6% for terraced homes, 1.3% for semi-detached homes and 0.8% for detached homes. Flats and maisonettes were down 2%. In London, the average was 1% lower than a year earlier, while the North West recorded 3.2% growth.
Zoopla’s market-activity figures cover the four weeks to 18 October 2026, compared with the same period in 2025. Sales agreed were 7% lower year on year, while homes for sale were 7% higher. These are separate measures from the September price data. The combination suggests buyers had more choice while agreed transactions were slower than a year earlier, but it does not show that every local market moved in the same way.
The report says a property that finds a buyer took 44 days on average, broadly the same as a year earlier. The regional range was wide: 19 days in Scotland and 56 days in London. Zoopla also found that asking-price positioning was associated with different sale outcomes in its April-to-June listing sample. Those figures are observations from its dataset, not a guarantee about an individual seller’s result.
The useful takeaway is to read the local figures alongside the national average. A UK-wide increase can sit alongside falls across many southern postcode areas and growth elsewhere. Zoopla’s index tracks achieved prices, not asking prices, and it can be revised as more information arrives. The October update is therefore a snapshot of the data and periods stated above, rather than a forecast that every area will follow the same path.