Rubbish Check
Daily Mail Money · 7 September 2026
source“House prices record first annual fall since 2023 as mortgage rates remain high”
R3/ 10
Lightly altered
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates the Daily Mail's claim that "house prices record first annual fall since 2023" a 3/10 because the figure is lifted straight from Lloyds' own press release, but the headline drops the single-index caveat, and Nationwide's rival index recorded a 1.6% annual rise for the same month.
The Verdict
Lightly altered. The core number, mortgage-rate driver and the "since 2023" comparison all check out against the primary Lloyds release, but presenting one lender's index as a settled national fact, without noting that Nationwide's competing measure moved the opposite way that same month, is the one omission that costs it points.
What actually happened
Lloyds' House Price Index recorded UK house prices 0.4% lower in August 2026 than a year earlier, the first annual decline the index has logged since November 2023. The average property price fell to £298,468, with Lloyds' mortgages director attributing the softness to higher borrowing costs and sellers refusing to cut asking prices.
Key facts
- Lloyds HPI: annual change -0.4% in August 2026, first annual fall since November 2023; average price £298,468, down from £299,153 in July and £299,569 a year earlier.
- Monthly change: -0.2% in August, following a -0.1% fall in July; prices still +0.2% since the start of 2026.
- Moneyfacts data shows average two-year and five-year fixed rate deals are now around 5.6 per cent, up from around 4.9 per cent at the start of the conflict in the Middle East.
- Regional split: South East -1.6%, Greater London -1.5%, South West/Eastern England -1.2% each, versus North East +2.7%, North West +2.0%, Scotland +3.5%, Northern Ireland +6.9%.
- Mortgage approvals at their lowest level since the start of 2024, per Lloyds' Andrew Asaam.
- Nationwide's rival index, covering the same August 2026 month, reported UK prices up 1.6% year-on-year, the opposite direction to Lloyds.
What to watch for
Watch whether ONS and Nationwide data corroborate the Lloyds fall next month, since the two major indices are currently pointing opposite ways for the same period. Also watch swap rates, which reporting elsewhere flags as rising sharply and could push fixed mortgage pricing higher still, reinforcing or undercutting the "high rates" framing.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
