Rubbish Check
Daily Mail Money · 30 October 2026
source“House prices grow at slowest pace since 2024 as buyers adjust to higher energy bills and mortgage rates”
R3/ 10
Lightly altered
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates Daily Mail's claim that house prices grew at their "slowest pace since 2024" a 3/10 because the 0.5% Nationwide figure is accurate and matches every other outlet's framing, but the headline presents "higher mortgage rates" as already happened when the Bank of England has held its base rate at 3.75% all year, with only market expectations of a future hike pushing up pricing.
The Verdict
Lightly altered. The core number checks out and is corroborated word-for-word by other outlets reporting the same Nationwide release, so this isn't spin dressed as fact. The one-iteration slip is tense: mortgage rates haven't risen, expectations of a rate rise have, and the headline skips Nationwide's own more upbeat second-half view that the slowdown should reverse once the energy shock fades.
What actually happened
Nationwide's House Price Index showed annual UK house price growth slowing to 0.5% in October 2026, matching the figure and the "weakest since January 2024" framing reported across multiple outlets covering the same release. Nationwide's chief economist attributed the slowdown to an uncertain economic backdrop, with Middle East-driven energy price pressure feeding inflation expectations that have pushed up market mortgage rates, even though the Bank of England's base rate itself hasn't moved.
Key facts
- Annual house price growth: 0.5% in October, down from 0.8% in September and 1.6% in August, per Nationwide; independently confirmed as the "weakest pace for nearly three years amid borrower caution because of rising mortgage costs."
- Typical home value: £273,566, down £5,324 since April, despite annual growth staying positive.
- Bank of England base rate held at 3.75% all year; what moved is market expectations of a hike, which have lifted the mortgage rates underpinning pricing, per Nationwide's own economist.
- Mortgage approvals: 53,400 in September, below the ~58,800 average of the prior six months and down almost a fifth year-on-year.
- Nationwide's economist separately noted annual economic growth has been "accelerating," employment is "holding up well," and household debt levels are "close to 20-year lows" relative to income, a context the headline omits entirely.
What to watch for
- Whether the Bank of England actually raises rates next month as markets expect, or whether the anticipatory pricing in mortgages reverses.
- The RICS survey's forward signal that prices are expected to keep falling in the near term, which would test Nationwide's own "once the shock fades" recovery call.
- Whether the Government's Your First Home scheme, not live until spring, gets credited or blamed in next month's coverage despite having no effect yet.
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.
