MARKET DATA & RESEARCH · Published August 2026 · Data as of May 2026

Where flat prices are rising — and where they're not

London is the only UK region where flats have actually lost value over the last 5 years. Everywhere else, they've gone the other way — in some places sharply.

Flats are usually the entry point for first-time buyers — smaller, cheaper, more available than houses. So it's worth knowing how their prices have actually moved, not just house prices generally. We pulled the regional breakdown from the same ONS/HM Land Registry data that powers Homabu's price map, specifically for flats and maisonettes.

London is the outlier, not the norm

Over the last 5 years, flat prices have fallen in exactly one UK region: London, down 1.1%. Every other region is up — most of them comfortably.

Region5-year changeCurrent average flat price
Northern Ireland+23.2%£139,882
Scotland+18.4%£135,743
North West+13.0%£138,258
North East+11.1%£102,614
Wales+10.7%£127,703
Yorkshire & Humber+10.4%£127,668
West Midlands+9.3%£139,225
East Midlands+7.3%£123,804
South West+3.5%£173,083
East of England+2.0%£190,762
South East+1.0%£206,838
London-1.1%£431,455

For context, the UK-wide average flat price is up 6.6% over the same period. London isn't just underperforming — it's the single region moving in the opposite direction from everywhere else, including its own neighbours in the South East and East of England, both of which are up, just modestly.

The affordability gap, in one number A flat in London now costs 4.2x what one costs in the North East — £431,455 versus £102,614. That's the widest regional gap for any single property type we track, and it's actually narrowed slightly over 5 years, purely because London has gone one way and the North East the other.

What this doesn't tell you

We can't say for certain why London flats specifically have fallen while houses across most of the country have risen — higher interest rates hitting smaller, more mortgage-dependent buyers harder, a genuine oversupply of new-build flats in parts of London, and cladding/EWS1-related buyability issues on some blocks are all plausible contributing factors, but this data doesn't isolate which matters most.

What it does show clearly: "flat prices are rising" or "flat prices are falling" isn't a single true statement about the UK right now. It depends entirely on where.

What this means if you're buying a flat

See the full breakdown, including houses

This covers flats specifically — detached, semi-detached and terraced by region are on the Data page too.

Explore the data →