Almost halfway through the year, welcome to our latest report on the Gloucester property market and the facts and figures behind what happened last month.
House Prices
According to Halifax, house prices fell for a third consecutive month in May. The latest Halifax House Price Index showed average property values edged down by 0.1% during the month to £298,806, following a similar decline in April as higher mortgage costs and growing economic uncertainty continued to weigh on buyer demand. In Gloucester the average asking price of properties coming to the market was £295,325 which is a year on year increase of 1.7%. Across Gloucestershire the average asking price is up year on year by 0.7% and stands at £406,127.
Interesting stats released by Rightmove reveals that sellers who enter the market with unrealistic pricing expectations are increasingly facing longer sales timelines. Homes that required a price reduction spent an average of 127 days on the market, compared with just 36 days for properties priced correctly from the outset.
When choosing your estate agent, it is worth remembering that a lot of the valuers who come to see you are personally rewarded for just getting your house on the market rather than selling it. The philosophy of some of these to deliberately inflate their valuation simply to win your business appears to show little sign of changing.
In Gloucester and across GL1, 2, 3 and 4 there were 313 price reductions through the month of May. One agency covering Gloucester reduced no fewer than 80 properties which suggests a high number of false valuations given initially. The same agent has a standard 3 month notice period written in to its terms of business so be careful not to fall for the highest price when choosing your estate agent.
Properties for sale
Data from the property data firm, TwentyEA, recorded 109,922 sales agreed (SSTCs) across the UK during the month of May, down from 119,607 in May 2025.
New figures from TwentyCi show that 794,000 properties were listed for sale during the first five months of 2026, up 2.7% on the same period last year and the highest volume recorded by the property data provider. While increased supply is helping to create a more balanced market, it is also making it harder for agents to secure sales as buyer demand cools following last year’s rush to complete ahead of stamp duty changes.
The figures reveal that the number of properties moving to sale agreed fell by 4.1% year-on-year, with activity weakening further in May when agreed sales were down 8.1% compared with the same month in 2025
Almost half of homes listed for sale in the UK over the past three years have failed to secure a buyer, according to analysis from Zoopla based on listings data and survey responses from more than 2,000 people who have attempted to sell during that period.
The data shows that 44% of listed homes remained unsold, with pricing emerging as a key factor in whether properties complete a sale. Among sellers who did not complete a transaction, 34% said the asking price was, in hindsight, too high, despite initially believing it was set at a fair level. Among those who did sell, 53% said they reduced their asking price at some stage during the process.
Properties in Gloucester are currently taking on average 53 days to sell, up 7 on last year, but quicker than the first quarter of 2026. Gloucester has however fallen out of the top 10 fastest selling of England’s largest 50 cities for the first time in over 2 years.
May saw sales agreed on 308 properties across GL1, GL2, GL3 and GL4 whilst the figure for the same period last year was 338.
The number of homes currently available across the UK remains high and it certainly remains a buyers’ market. As of 31st May, there was over 1500 properties unsold across the four Gloucester postcodes. At the same time in 2025 there 936 unsold properties across GL1, GL2, GL3, GL4.
Interestingly the estate agent with the highest number of price reductions and lengthy notice period also had 354 unsold properties at the end of May. Draw your own conclusions on that.
Of the 1128 properties unsold on the Gloucester property market at the end of May, 615 had been on the market for at least 8 weeks, whilst 455 of those had been on the market unsold for 12 weeks or more.
If we delve a little deeper then it shows 484 (43%) of the properties are priced at £250,000 or less, 384 (34%) of the properties are priced between £250,000 and £400,000, 99 (9%) are priced between £400,000 and £500,000 with 161 (14%) priced over half a million pounds.
Mortgages
Mortgage borrowers are increasingly favouring shorter-term fixed-rate deals despite them carrying higher average rates than longer-term alternatives, according to analysis of search activity on Moneyfactscompare.co.uk.
The proportion of users comparing two-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 48.4% in February to 55.6% in May. Over the same period, interest in five-year fixed deals fell from 27.7% to 21.8%, while searches for 10-year fixed mortgages declined from 6.5% to 4.5%.
The shift comes despite the average five-year fixed mortgage rate standing at 5.68% in May, below the average two-year fixed rate of 5.78%.
The figures suggest some borrowers are opting for shorter-term fixes in the expectation that mortgage rates may fall in the coming years, allowing them to refinance sooner rather than locking into a longer-term deal at current rates.
Positive news is that mortgage choice has climbed back above 7,000 products for the first time in three months as lenders continue to cut fixed-rate deals and reprice their ranges in response to ever changing market conditions.
Summary
Demand is still nearly 15% higher than in 2023 and remains ahead of 2024 levels despite the ongoing affordability pressures, geopolitical uncertainty and higher mortgage costs. That resilience reflects the determination of committed buyers, who continue to move however they are certainly being more choosy and sensible pricing is paramount if sellers are to attract buyers to their property.
There remains plenty of choice for buyers and anybody looking for property should make sure they are maximising their search options - increase your budget by a price band or two and widen your search area.
Sellers must continue to balance price ambition and market realism give yourselves the best chance of finding a buyer and getting your home sold.
Choose your estate agent wisely. Are you being lulled in by an over inflated asking price, given to you by an agent who is only interested in winning your business rather than selling your home?
As always, we appreciate your thoughts and comments on the Gloucester property market and are happy to answer any questions you have or provide any assistance with your home moving plans.
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