The UK property market headlines are preaching doom and gloom. Yes, in some markets, especially certain parts of London, things are tough. Yet London isn’t the be all and end all.
In this week’s show, we get underneath the headlines and look at what actually happened in the 3rd week of September, from new listings and price reductions to most importantly, sales agreed, fall-throughs and exchanges. Then we ask what those numbers are really telling estate agents about the market they are working in right now.
Joining me in the show is Alice Bullard, boss of Nested, and as you might expect, the statistics very quickly turn into a few home truths for estate agents. We get into overvaluing, cheap fees, whether there really is such a thing as a buyers’ or sellers’ market, and why getting the instruction is pointless if the strategy afterwards does not actually help the homeowner move.
In the second part of the show, we head to Shrewsbury and put the local Shrewsbury estate & letting agents under the microscope. Not simply who lists the most homes, but who actually gives homeowners the strongest chance of moving, who achieves the better prices and who appears to be gaining ground locally. If you are an estate agent anywhere in the UK, the way we analyse Shrewsbury might give you a few ideas about how you could prove your own value too.
🟩 Listings
Week 37 ..
35.9k new listings this week, (36.7k last week).
Weekly 2026 average : 36k.
10 year week 37 average : 35.6k
Year to Date
1.336m new listings YTD, which is …
0.5% below 2025 YTD (1.342m)
2.4% higher of 2024 YTD (1.305m)
10% higher of 2023 YTD (1.21m)
10% higher than the 2017–19 average YTD (1.213m).
9.4% higher than last decade YTD average – 1.190m.
🟩 UK Gross Resi Sales
Week 37 ..
22.8k homes sold stc this week 33 (23k last week)
10 year week 37 average : 25.2k
2026 weekly average : 24.2k.
Year to Date for house sales
897k UK homes sold stc YTD, which is …
7.4% lower than 2025 YTD (969k)
1.9% lower to 2024 YTD (914k)
11% higher than 2023 YTD (808k)
5.1% higher above pre Covid 2017-19 years (854k).
0.9% lower than the last decade YTD average (905k).
🟩 UK Net Resi Sales YTD
(Net Sales being Gross Sales less Sale Fall Thrus).
Week 37
17.1k Net Sales (17.7k last week)
10 year Week 37 average: 19.1k.
Weekly average for 2026: 18.7k.
Year to Date
692k UK net home sales YTD, which is …
6.2% lower than 2025 (739k),
1.4% lower than 2024 (703k),
14.1% ahead of 2023 (607k)
3.2% above the 2017/18/19 average 671k).
🟩 Exchanges & Withdrawals
• 78.4k Exchanges in August 2026
• 63.7k Withdrawals in August 2026
(Note these numbers will change slightly as more stats from August come in)
• Therefore, in August 2026, just 55.2% of homes that left agents’ books exchanged & completed in July (the rest – 44.8% withdrew, unsold)
• 57.6% is the 7 year average exchange to listings ratio (which includes the crazy years post lockdown 18 months).
Additional info …
🟥 in-Depth August SSTC vs Stock – August 2026 vs August 2023.
Regional breakdown of growth in sales and growth in sales agreed in August 2026 vs August 2023.
🟥 Price Reductions
• 28.1k reductions this week on 742k UK homes for sale
• 11.1% of UK homes for sale were reduced in August (down from 13.7% in July)
• 2026 YTD average 12.8%, versus the 6 year long term average of 10.9%.
🟥 Price Difference between Asking Price of Listings & Asking Price of those Homes that go Sold stc
• Week 37 – 24.5% difference (long term 10 year average is 16% to 17%). (£453k ave Listing Ave Asking price vs £363k Sale Agreed ave Asking price)
🟥 Sell-Through Rate
• 13.3% of homes on agents’ books went SSTC in August ’26 (compared to 14.2% in July ’26 & 13.8% in June ’26).
• Pre-Covid average: 15.5%.
🟥 Sale Fall-Thrus
• Week 37 Fall-thru rate 24.9%
• Decade average: 24.5%
• 4.9% of homes sold STC fell thru in August 2026. Interesting when compared with the 2026 YTD average of 5.1% and 2025 average of 5.3% and the 10 year average of 5.7%.
🟥 Stock Levels
• 742k homes on the market on the 1st of Sept ’26 (767k the month before and 736k 12 months ago)
• 479k homes in agent’s sales pipeline on the 1st Sept 2026, lower than 12 months ago on 1st Sept ’25 (508k).
🟥 House Prices (£/sq.ft)
• August ’26 agreed sales averaged £338.41 per sq.ft. 0.3% higher than 12 months ago (£337.28) and 9.5% than 5 years ago (£308.91). The £/sqft at sale agreed matches the HM Land Registry Index with a 98% accuracy, 5 months in advance. That is why it is so important.
🟥 UK Rental Data
• Average Rent in Wk 37 – £1,806 pcm
• Average Rent in Sept 2026 – £1,766 pcm
• Average Rent in Sept 2025 – £1,791 pcm
• Average Rent in Sept 2021 – £1,390 pcm
• Average Rent in YTD 2026 – £1,764 pcm
• 302k UK Rental Stock available to rent on 1st Sept 26 (357k on 1st Sept 2025)
• New Rental Properties coming onto the market in August 2026 – 120,100. (115,584 in August 2025 & 106,982 in August 2022)
🟥 Local Focus this week in the Show
Shrewsbury