The average UK house price fell 0.1% in May to £298,806, extending the monthly decline to three straight months after drops of 0.1% in April and 0.5% in March, and defying a consensus forecast of a 0.1% rise. Halifax said annual growth edged up to 0.5% from 0.4%, still below the 1% analysts had expected. The lender’s head of mortgages, Amanda Bryden, attributed the trend to Iran-war uncertainty, noting that even after recent mortgage-rate cuts, borrowing costs remain above January’s levels; the average two-year fixed rate stood at 5.66%, up from 4.83% at the start of March, and the five-year equivalent at 5.62%, up from 4.95%. UK inflation slowed to 2.8% in April, aided by a lower energy price cap, but a 13% cap rise from July is expected to push inflation higher. Nationwide earlier this week reported its first monthly fall in house prices in May for 2026.