The Autumn Market Has Arrived – But Buyers Are Still Calling the Shots
After a quieter-than-usual summer, there are finally some signs of life returning to the property market.
The latest Rightmove House Price Index shows that the average price of a property coming onto the market has risen by 0.7% this month, or £2,441, taking the national average asking price to £367,440.
That’s the first monthly increase since May and, interestingly, slightly stronger than the average September increase of 0.5% seen over the last ten years.
So, is the market suddenly taking off again?
Not quite.
September’s figures are encouraging, but when you look beyond that headline, this remains a market where buyers have considerable choice and sellers need to work harder to attract them.
And here in the Midlands, there are some interesting differences depending on which side of our patch you live.
Why Have Asking Prices Risen?
September is normally a busier month for estate agents.
The summer holidays are over, children are back at school and people who put their moving plans on hold during July and August start looking again.
This year that seasonal effect may be even more noticeable because the summer was particularly subdued.
Rightmove says September’s 0.7% increase is an early indication of the usual autumn bounce, but describes it as a modest recovery rather than a major turning point.
That’s important.
Despite September’s increase, the average asking price is still 0.8% lower than this time last year and 2.3% below where it was at the beginning of the summer.
So we’d describe this as the market waking back up after the summer rather than suddenly booming.
There Are Still A Lot of Homes For Buyers to Choose From
Perhaps the most important statistic for anyone selling this autumn is this:
The number of homes available for sale is at a 12-year high for this time of year.
At the beginning of 2026, the average estate agent had around 56 properties available, including those under offer and Sold STC.
By June that had risen to 65, and it remained at 65 throughout June, July and August.
That’s a significant amount of choice.
And it’s probably the single biggest reason why pricing has become so important.
Buyers don’t necessarily have to choose between two or three suitable homes anymore. They may have several.
So when a new property appears in their search, they’re comparing its price, condition, location and presentation with everything else that’s available.
For sellers, the question isn’t simply:
“Is my house worth this?”
It also needs to be:
“How does my house compare with everything else a buyer can purchase for the same money?”
Buyers Are Coming Back – But We’re Not Back to Last Year’s Levels
There is some encouraging news on buyer activity.
Rightmove has recorded the expected jump in enquiries as people return from their summer holidays.
However, buyer demand is still 9% lower than it was at this point last year.
New properties coming to market are also 3% lower than last year, while the number of sales being agreed is 9% lower.
That combination tells us quite a lot about the current market.
There aren’t dramatically more sellers arriving each week. The issue is that the existing stock of unsold homes has built up.
In simple terms, there are more homes competing for fewer active buyers.
That doesn’t mean buyers aren’t buying.
It means they can afford to be selective.
6 in 10 Homes Are Finding a Buyer
This is another statistic we think is useful for putting the current market into perspective.
Across Great Britain, Rightmove says 61% of homes coming to market successfully find a buyer.
In the exceptionally busy market of 2021, that figure was 74%.
There are enormous regional variations – from 91% in Scotland to just 42% in London – which is another reminder that national property statistics should never be treated as though they apply equally everywhere.
But the overall figure makes an important point:
Most homes are still selling. Not every home is selling.
The difference between the two is increasingly coming down to price, presentation and marketing.
Rightmove’s analysis backs that up. Of the properties that have sold so far this year, 74% were priced correctly from the outset and did not need a subsequent asking-price reduction.
That’s a statistic we’d pay particular attention to if you’re thinking about selling.
So What’s Happening Here in the Midlands?
This is where things become much more relevant to homeowners across Rugby, Daventry, Northampton, Towcester and the villages in between.
East Midlands
Average asking price: £289,822
Monthly change: +0.4%
Annual change: -0.6%
Average time to find a buyer: 70 days
West Midlands
Average asking price: £298,100
Monthly change: 0.0%
Annual change: +1.5%
Average time to find a buyer: 64 days
That’s quite an interesting split.
The West Midlands is outperforming the national market on annual asking-price growth, with prices 1.5% higher than a year ago.
The East Midlands has also seen asking prices increase this month, but remains 0.6% below September 2025.
Properties are also taking slightly longer to find buyers in the East Midlands – 70 days compared with 64 days in the West Midlands.
For Campbells, that’s particularly relevant because our area effectively straddles the two regions.
Rugby sits within the West Midlands region, while Daventry, Northampton, Towcester and much of Northamptonshire fall within the East Midlands (don’t forget, those regional figures are averages).
The market for a three-bedroom family house in Daventry can behave differently from a village cottage near Rugby, a detached family home in Towcester or a property in Northampton.
That’s why understanding the micro-market around an individual home matters far more than simply looking at the UK average.
How Long Does Moving Home Actually Take?
This month’s report contains a statistic that anyone hoping to move soon really needs to understand.
The average property currently takes 64 days to find a buyer.
But that’s only the first part of the process.
Rightmove says it then takes an average of a further 150 days to complete the sale.
Put those together and the average seller is looking at approximately seven months from going onto the market to completing their move.
That means someone putting their home onto the market now and moving at the average speed may not complete until after Easter next year.
Of course, averages are just that. Plenty of sales happen considerably faster.
But it demonstrates why the preparation before a property launches – and what happens once a buyer is found – matters so much.
Choosing an agent shouldn’t therefore only be about who can find you a buyer.
It’s also worth asking:
What happens after you find one?
Sales progression, communication, chain management and getting everyone legally prepared can make an enormous difference to how smoothly a move progresses.
Mortgage Rates Are Making Buyers Think Carefully
This is probably the less positive part of September’s report.
The average two-year fixed mortgage rate has risen again, from 5.09% last month to 5.29%.
Rightmove says the average monthly payment on a new mortgage is now approximately £180 higher than it was before rates began rising at the end of February. Rightmove-HPI-21st-September
That matters because buyers don’t necessarily make decisions based on the headline price of a property.
They make them based on what that property is going to cost them every month.
An extra £100, £150 or £200 per month can change someone’s maximum budget or cause them to look at a different type of property.
Rightmove’s mortgage expert does point out that there is still a good range of mortgage products available across different deposit sizes, but affordability remains one of the biggest constraints on today’s buyers.
Different Parts of the Market Are Behaving Differently Too
There’s another interesting detail hidden in the national figures.
Not every type of buyer is experiencing the same market.
The typical first-time buyer property now has an asking price of £225,199, down 0.1% this month and 0.9% annually.
For second-steppers, the average is £344,837, up 0.9% this month but 0.1% lower annually.
At the top of the ladder, the average asking price is £672,728, up 0.9% this month and 0.5% higher than last year.
Again, that’s why one headline saying “house prices are up” or “house prices are down” can be misleading.
The answer increasingly depends on what you’re selling, where it is and who is likely to buy it.
What If You’re Selling?
September has brought more buyers back into the market, which is encouraging.
But those buyers have a lot of choice.
So this isn’t really a market for testing an ambitious price for a few months and hoping somebody eventually pays it.
Your strongest period of exposure is usually when your property first launches. That’s when buyers receive alerts, when it’s fresh on the portals and when it attracts the most attention.
Getting the price wrong can mean wasting that opportunity.
Rightmove’s own analysis shows that 74% of the homes that have sold this year didn’t need a price reduction.
Price isn’t everything, though.
Presentation matters. Photography matters. Availability for viewings matters. Marketing matters. And listening to the feedback from buyers once you’re on the market matters.
In a crowded marketplace, you need to give buyers a reason to choose your home rather than one of the alternatives.
What If You’re Buying?
For buyers, the current market arguably offers something we haven’t always had in recent years: choice and time to compare.
There are more homes available, and sellers are competing for your attention.
That can create opportunities to negotiate – particularly where a property has been available for some time or where the seller has found somewhere they want to move to.
But mortgage affordability means knowing your numbers before you start viewing is increasingly important.
A slightly higher mortgage rate can make a significant difference to monthly repayments, so we’d recommend understanding your borrowing position rather than simply starting with the maximum property price you’d like to spend.
And remember: the best properties can still attract competition.
A market with more choice doesn’t mean every home is negotiable.
What If You’re Selling AND Buying?
If you’re selling one home to buy another, the current market needs to be looked at as one move rather than two separate transactions.
It’s easy to focus on what you might have to accept for your own property, particularly when buyers have more choice and are negotiating harder. But remember, you become the buyer next – and those same market conditions may work in your favour when you find your onward purchase.
For example, accepting £10,000 less than you originally hoped for can feel like a loss. But if you’re moving to a more expensive property and negotiate £15,000 from that seller’s asking price, you could actually be £5,000 better off across the move as a whole.
So being realistic enough to secure a good buyer for your own home can put you in a much stronger position when negotiating on the one you want to buy.
There’s another consideration too: time.
With Rightmove reporting an average of a further 150 days from finding a buyer to completing, getting yourself into a proceedable position sooner rather than later could be more valuable than holding out indefinitely for the last few thousand pounds. Rightmove-HPI-21st-September
Ultimately, if you’re selling and buying, don’t judge the success of your move purely by the price you achieve for your current home.
What Does September Really Tell Us?
Perhaps the best description of the September market is:
More active, but not necessarily easier.
Buyers and sellers have returned after the summer.
Asking prices have increased for the first time since May.
But sellers are competing against the highest number of available homes at this time of year for 12 years, buyer enquiries remain 9% below last year and mortgage affordability has become more challenging.
For buyers, that creates choice.
For sellers, it creates competition.
And that means the quality of the advice you receive before putting your home onto the market is becoming increasingly important.
In Summary
There are some genuinely encouraging signs in September’s figures.
National asking prices are up 0.7% this month, buyer activity has picked up after the summer and the West Midlands remains 1.5% ahead of last year.
But this isn’t a return to the frantic markets we’ve experienced in the past.
The East Midlands remains 0.6% below last year, the average property takes 64 days to find a buyer nationally, mortgage rates have risen to 5.29%, and buyers have more homes to choose from than at this time of year for 12 years. Rightmove-HPI-21st-September
So our message this month is slightly different:
The autumn market is moving – but being on the market and being positioned to sell are two very different things.
If you’re thinking about moving in Rugby, Daventry, Northampton, Towcester or any of the surrounding villages, don’t become too distracted by whether the national average has moved up or down by a percentage point.
Find out what’s happening in your area, in your price range and for your type of property.
Because that’s the market that really matters to you.
