The headlines may sound gloomy. The numbers tell a rather different story.

The headlines may sound gloomy. The numbers tell a rather different story.

If you have been following the property news over the summer, you could be forgiven for thinking that everyone has stopped buying and selling.

There has been plenty of talk about falling house prices and the possibility of a property crash.

But look beyond the headlines and there is another story emerging as we head towards autumn.

People are still moving. And the market is still active.

The latest Government figures show that there were an estimated 98,700 residential property transactions in June 2026, after seasonal adjustment. That was 2% higher than June 2025 and marginally higher than May. The Government says the year on year increase is likely to represent an improvement in underlying property market activity.

That is an encouraging place to start.

People are still completing their moves

The bigger picture is even more interesting.

Between April and June 2026, there were 297,640 seasonally adjusted residential transactions, compared with 246,060 during the same period in 2025.

That is 51,580 more completed transactions, an increase of approximately 21%.

There is an important point to make here. These figures relate to completed transactions, so they reflect decisions made several months earlier. The Government specifically cautions that they do not necessarily represent the current strength of the property market.

But they do tell us something important.

The property market is still moving.

And for buyers and sellers, that is a much more positive starting point than some of the headlines might suggest.

So what about house prices?

This is where things become more interesting.

The latest Office for National Statistics figures show that average UK house prices increased by 2.7% in the year to May 2026, reaching £271,000.

The picture across the country is far from uniform.

In England, the average house price was £292,000, an annual increase of 2.3%. Wales saw prices rise by 4.2%, while Scotland recorded an increase of 4.4%.

London, however, continues to behave differently.

Average London house prices were 3.7% lower than a year earlier in May 2026. The Office for National Statistics says the fall was primarily driven by Inner London, where prices fell by 5.9%, while Outer London recorded a much smaller annual fall of 0.3%.

That is an important distinction.

London is not one single property market.

A family house in one part of London can be performing very differently from a flat a few miles away. Property type, location, condition, price and buyer demand all matter.

That is why we would be cautious about anyone telling you that your property is worth less simply because “London prices are down”.

Your property has its own market.

And then there is the rental market

There is another part of the latest figures that continues to support the rental market.

Average UK private rents increased by 3.3% in the year to June 2026, reaching £1,388 a month.

London remains the most expensive English region for private renters, with the average rent reaching £2,302 a month, an annual increase of 2.2%. Interestingly, London had the lowest annual rental inflation of all the English regions in June.

So while the sales market is more measured, rents in London are still increasing.

For landlords, this makes understanding the individual property even more important.

What is the realistic rent today?

How does it compare with similar properties?

Is the property being presented properly?

And, with the changes affecting the private rented sector, does the current tenancy and management strategy still make sense?

So what does this mean as we head into autumn?

September is always an interesting time in property.

The summer holidays finish, people return to work and those conversations that have been quietly sitting in the background suddenly become a little more urgent.

Should we sell?

Should we move?

Could we achieve more for our home than we thought?

Is now the right time to buy?

There is no single answer.

But the latest figures give us reasons to be encouraged, without pretending that everything is booming.

There is activity.

There are buyers.

There are sellers.

And people are still making decisions about where they want to live.

Our view at Properly

We think the autumn market will be about realistic pricing, good preparation and good advice.

Sellers need to understand their competition rather than simply looking at what a neighbour achieved six months ago.

Buyers have an opportunity to be selective and should understand whether they are buying a property at a sensible price.

Landlords need to understand both rental demand and the changing costs and responsibilities of being a landlord.

And above all, we think clients deserve honest advice.

Not a wildly optimistic valuation simply to win an instruction.

Not a gloomy prediction simply because it makes a good headline.

Just a clear view of what the evidence means for your particular property.

Because perhaps the most encouraging thing about the market going into autumn is not that prices are soaring.

It is something much simpler.

People are moving.

And at Properly, we are looking forward to helping them do it.

Thinking about selling, buying or letting this autumn? We would be very happy to have a conversation.

Properly