UK house prices up 1.5% in May. What Zoopla's data means for Huntingdonshire.

UK house prices rose 1.5% in the year to May 2026, reaching an average of £271,900, according to Zoopla's May 2026 House Price Index, published 28 May. Buyer demand across the country sits 10% below the same four-week period last year, but sales agreed are 1% above it. That gap tells the real story: buyers who are active are completing, and sellers who price correctly are selling.

What does Zoopla's May 2026 data show?

The headline figures from the May 2026 HPI release:

• UK average house price: £271,900, up 1.5% year on year
• Buyer demand: 10% lower than the same four weeks in 2025 (measured to 17 May 2026)
• Sales agreed: 1% above the same period last year
• Homes listed for sale: 3.4% more than a year ago
• First-time buyers targeting homes at an average of £254,750, which is 4.3% more than a year ago

The increase in homes for sale gives buyers more options. The rise in sales agreed confirms that well-priced properties are not sitting: the market is selective, not broken.

Why is the East of England market splitting in two?

The East of England carries an average property price around £330,000, significantly above the UK figure. At the top of the region, stretched affordability has hit a ceiling in Cambridge city: prices there have stalled as the gap between local earnings and asking prices becomes difficult for buyers to bridge.

That creates a displacement effect that benefits Huntingdon and the wider patch. Buyers who a year ago were stretching for a Cambridge city postcode are now looking at Godmanchester, St Ives and the A14 corridor villages, where commute times are comparable and prices are not.

Huntingdonshire sits on the growing side of that regional split. The May 2026 Zoopla data reinforces a pattern the patch has held throughout 2026: accessible pricing, strong transport links, and genuine buyer interest from Cambridge-priced-out households.

What does this mean for buyers in Huntingdonshire?

More homes for sale nationally (up 3.4%) means more options, but not a buyer's market in the patch. The sellers completing are those who priced to the current market, not to last year's peak. A property that sits on the market for six weeks in a well-supplied corridor is almost always an overpriced one, not an unlucky one.

First-time buyers face a specific challenge: their target price bracket is rising at 4.3% annually, almost three times the pace of headline house price growth. That is because two and three-bedroom homes in commutable towns are in tight supply. If you are a first-time buyer tracking properties in the patch, the window before your target range moves further ahead of your deposit is now, not after summer.

Getting a decision in principle sorted before the mortgage rate picture changes removes one variable from your search. Rates have been easing through May; lenders will reprice around the June 18 MPC decision either way.

What should sellers do before summer?

With 3.4% more homes on the market than a year ago, buyers are comparing more options. A correctly priced home will still sell quickly; one priced to a 2025 estimate will sit while better-priced stock completes around it.

The right asking price is not what a portal algorithm suggests based on old completions data. It is what a local agent with recent valuations on your street can tell you. A free valuation from Villager Homes gives you that number based on what is actually selling in Huntingdonshire right now, not six months ago.

What happens at the MPC meeting on 18 June?

The Bank of England's next interest-rate decision is 18 June 2026. The MPC voted 8-1 to hold at 3.75% in April, and markets are not fully pricing a cut for June. If the Bank holds, the current fixed-rate environment continues its gradual easing. If it cuts, lenders will reprice quickly and competition from other buyers will rise to match cheaper borrowing.

Being offer-ready, with a decision in principle in place, before 18 June means you are not scrambling to re-run your affordability numbers after the decision. Speak to a whole-of-market broker now if you have not started that process. Our estate agents in Huntingdon can refer you to trusted brokers covering the patch.

Sources: Zoopla House Price Index, May 2026, published 28 May 2026 (zoopla.co.uk/research). Data covers the four weeks to 17 May 2026 for demand and sales agreed figures.