Asking prices for British homes rose by 1.2% in May to £378,304 despite uncertainty around the Iran war, Rightmove has revealed.

This was above the 1% increase usually seen in May. Prices rose by 0.8% in April from March.

Despite the increase, average prices have fallen by 0.3% since May 2025, the report said.

The annual price fall of 0.3% also masks major regional discrepancies, Rightmove added.

It said asking prices in the more affordable North East (2.7%) and North West (2.6%) of England are continuing to increase annually while London (minus 2.4%) and the South East (minus 1.6%) are seeing annual asking price falls.

Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said: “It’s normal to see asking prices pick up as we move through the spring selling season. What’s notable this month is that activity in the market is staying fairly steady, even with ongoing cost-of-living pressures and wider global uncertainty. The number of sales agreed is holding up well, consistent with trends we’ve seen in 2026 so far. However, this overall positive national monthly snapshot masks a north-south divide in year-on-year seller pricing power. Prices are rising in the north, but all sellers should note that buyer choice is now at its highest level for this time of year since 2015. Getting the asking price right from the outset is therefore increasingly important, as homes priced too ambitiously are taking longer to sell.

“What’s encouraging is how resilient activity has remained, even among first-time buyers, despite the ongoing pressures of higher living costs and mortgage rates. The number of sales agreed in the first-time buyer sector is performing better than expected and is broadly tracking the wider market. Prices in the typical first-time-buyer sector are lower than a year ago, helping to support affordability. It’s a healthy dynamic that activity is continuing not because buyers are overstretching, but because prices are adjusting to levels that some would-be buyers can realistically afford.”

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