UK Housebuilders

Research evidence excerpt

UK Housebuilders

RBC Europe Limited

Anthony Codling (Analyst)

+44 20 7429 8145,

anthony.codling@rbccm.com

Oliver Dyson (Analyst)

+44 20 7002 2645,

oliver.dyson@rbccm.com

June 15, 2026

UK HousebuildersRESEARCH Breaking Bricks: Asking prices soft in June

Our view: June's Rightmove HPI is unambiguously soft. Asking prices fell by 0.6% (-£2,113) to £376,191,

the largest June decline in fourteen years and a sharp reversal from May's above-average seasonal rise

of +1.2% (+£4,333). Critically, June typically delivers modest price growth of around +0.1% on a ten-

year average, making this month's outturn a material undershoot. The culprit is a familiar cocktail: an

unusually early summer market triggered by May's heatwave, a World Cup distraction, an elevated

supply of homes, and persistently high mortgage rates. Buyer demand fell 10% year-on-year in May, a

steeper decline than the 4% shortfall reported in the prior month. Annual price growth has now movedEQUITY

further into negative territory at -0.5%, from -0.3% in May. The one genuine positive is that Rightmove's

mortgage tracker shows the average two-year fixed rate has eased again, down to 5.07% from 5.18%,

shaving roughly £30 per month off the average mortgage payment. For housebuilders, the north-south

affordability divide persists, favouring those with greater northern and Midlands exposure. Heading into

summer, the market is price-sensitive, supply-heavy and increasingly buyer-led.

What Rightmove said

• Asking prices fall by 0.6% (-£2,113) to £376,191, the biggest June drop in fourteen years and well

below the ten-year June average of +0.1%; annual prices are now -0.5% versus -0.3% last month,

with declines concentrated across all southern England regions and Wales while the North East and