A quieter week than last week's Bank of England decision, but a useful one. The first house price report of the month came on Friday and showed a market going almost nowhere, the mortgage market gave borrowers their first bit of good news in a while, and we now know exactly when the new Chancellor will deliver his first Budget. Here's the plain-English version.
🏠 House prices flat in July, the slowest annual growth since 2023 Confirmed
The Lloyds House Price Index, the renamed Halifax index we covered last month, published its July figures on Friday morning. The average UK home now costs £299,253, effectively unchanged over the month (down just £143), and only 0.1% higher than a year ago. That's the slowest annual growth this index has recorded since November 2023.
Step back and the bigger picture is remarkable for how unremarkable it is: Lloyds points out that average prices have moved within a narrow range for almost two years, and sit just 0.5% above where they were in November 2024. Meanwhile the market itself is still ticking over, with industry figures showing a modest rise in both mortgage approvals and completed sales in June after a dip in May. People are still buying and selling; prices just aren't going anywhere fast.
Worth noting: Nationwide's index, which we covered last week, put annual growth at 1.8%. The two indices measure slightly different pools of lending, so they rarely agree to the decimal, but both are telling the same story, a flat market.
What it means for you: if you're saving for a first home, a flat market is on your side, your deposit target isn't running away from you. Our first-time buyer guide covers how to make the most of that breathing space. If you're selling, pricing realistically matters more than ever, and if you're weighing up affordability, start with our calculators.
📉 The first rate cuts in weeks, but it's a mixed picture Confirmed
After several weeks of lenders nudging fixed rates upwards, this week brought the first movement in the other direction. Barclays and Nationwide both trimmed selected fixed deals, and smaller lenders such as Nottingham Building Society continued cutting too. It's not a wholesale change of direction, other lenders left rates alone or moved them up, but it's the first encouraging sign since the Middle East conflict pushed swap rates higher in July.
To recap the last month: average fixed rates rose sharply through late July, with the typical two-year fix moving from around 5.46% to the low 5.6s. The best buys tell a much friendlier story though: as of this week the leading two-year fix was 4.46% and the leading five-year fix 4.50% (both from Halifax at 60% loan-to-value). The gap between the averages and the best buys is a reminder that the headline figures include every deal at every deposit size, and that what you can get depends heavily on your equity and circumstances.
The base rate itself hasn't moved, the Bank of England held it at 3.75% on 30 July, and the next decision isn't until 17 September. As regular readers know, fixed rates follow swap rates rather than the base rate, which is why they can fall (or rise) between Bank decisions.
What it means for you: the advice doesn't change, but the mood does. If your deal ends within about six months, you can still reserve a rate now as insurance, and if this week's cuts turn into a trend, most lenders will let you switch to something cheaper before completion. That's the best of both worlds. See our guide to what happens when your fixed rate ends, run your numbers on the repayment calculator, or read the remortgage guide if you're weighing up staying versus switching.
🗓️ The Autumn Budget has a date: 28 October Date confirmed
We now know when the big fiscal event of the year will be. New Chancellor John Healey has confirmed the Autumn Budget will take place on Wednesday 28 October 2026, his first Budget since Andy Burnham's government took office last month.
What will be in it? Honestly, nobody outside the Treasury knows yet, and that's the important point. You'll see months of speculation between now and October, including revived talk of property tax reform and the "scrap stamp duty" ideas we covered in July. Until something is announced at the despatch box, it's all guesswork Speculation, and history says most of the ideas floated in the press never make it into the actual Budget.
What it means for you: don't make big financial decisions based on Budget rumours. The measures already confirmed in law, like the cash ISA changes coming in April 2027, still stand. If October's Budget changes anything that affects your mortgage, savings or home, we'll cover exactly what it means in the roundup that week.
🛡️ Life cover and the mortgage gap: would yours actually clear the loan?
This week's homeowner note is about a gap many families don't know they have. Plenty of people took out life insurance when they first got a mortgage, ticked the box, and haven't looked at it since. The problem: mortgages change, and cover that matched your loan ten years ago may not match it today. If the worst happened, the payout might not clear the mortgage, leaving your family with the shortfall.
The usual ways the gap opens up:
- You've moved or borrowed more. A bigger mortgage with the same old policy means the sums no longer add up. Every house move, further advance or big remortgage is a moment to re-check the numbers.
- Your policy is decreasing cover but your mortgage isn't decreasing as planned. Decreasing term insurance is designed to shrink alongside a repayment mortgage. If you've extended your term, taken payment holidays or switched to interest-only for a spell, the cover can fall faster than the debt.
- One partner is covered, the other isn't. If the mortgage depends on two incomes, losing either one matters. Cover on just one life protects only half the picture.
- There's no cover at all. Life insurance isn't compulsory for a mortgage, and some borrowers skip it to save money. That's a choice worth making deliberately rather than by default, especially with dependants in the house.
- The policy isn't in trust. Writing life insurance in trust means the payout goes directly to your family, usually faster and outside your estate. Our guide to writing life insurance in trust explains how it works, and the protection overview covers the wider family of cover, including how life insurance differs from critical illness cover.
Where DS Financial fits: a five-minute check of what you have against what you owe is exactly the sort of thing Debbie at DS Financial does with clients alongside their mortgage. If your cover hasn't been reviewed since you took the mortgage out, or you're not sure what you have, it's worth a no-pressure look, just drop her a line. (Life insurance is a regulated product. This is general information, not a personal recommendation.)
That's your week: house prices standing still, the first rate cuts in a while (with the best buys well below the averages), a Budget date for the diary, and a nudge to check that your life cover still matches your mortgage. If anything here raises a question about your own situation, just drop us a line, or have a no-pressure chat with Debbie at DS Financial.
General information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Figures correct at the time of writing (7 August 2026). Mortgage rates change frequently and the deals quoted may not be available when you read this.
Sources: Lloyds House Price Index, July 2026 (published 7 August 2026), HomeOwners Alliance, best mortgage rates and lender repricing, week ending 7 August 2026, Uswitch / Mojo Mortgages, UK mortgage rates today (6 August 2026), Bank of England, Monetary Policy Summary and Minutes, July 2026 (Bank Rate held at 3.75%, 30 July 2026), Moneyfacts, Autumn Budget 2026 date confirmed (28 October 2026).