Homes for sale hit a 12-year high but buyers are retreating as Iran war pushes mortgage rates to their worst since 2023

From the Newshound archive · first published 21 September 2026.

Rightmove's September data reveals a housing market under acute pressure: four in every ten listed properties are going unsold, and the total number of homes on the market has hit a 12-year high. Buyer enquiries have dropped 9 per cent year-on-year, with sales agreed down by the same margin. The two-year fixed mortgage rate has averaged 5.29 per cent — up from 4.25 per cent before the Iran war started in February — pushing the typical new mortgage payment up by around £180 a month.

In London, nearly six in ten homes are going unsold, making the capital the worst-performing market in the country.

Rightmove's Colleen Babcock described September's 0.7 per cent asking-price rise as 'a modest recovery rather than a major turning point', with sellers facing 'stiff competition'.

Flats are suffering hardest — only half of all flats listed are finding buyers, compared with 65 per cent of houses.