Zoopla research published on 15 October 2026 shows 51 percent of two and three-bedroom houses for sale now fall within the budget of a household on an average income, up from 45 percent a year ago.
The portal calculates that a household on a combined £53,500 can afford a home priced up to £301,000, based on a mortgage at 4.5 times income with a 20 percent deposit. Southern England drove the improvement, with the South West up 9.8 percentage points to 47 percent and the East of England up 9.2 points to 39 percent.
Rising buyer affordability cuts both ways for landlords, because it opens realistic purchase routes for tenants while widening the pool of competing buyers for the same family-house stock. With sales agreed running 9 percent below last year, the data points to a market where motivated sellers may deal rather than a market about to surge.
Rates above 5 percent hold buyers back
Improving affordability on paper has yet to convert into stronger sales. Average mortgage rates have climbed above 5 percent after starting the year at around 4 percent, and higher monthly repayments are limiting demand even where asking prices sit within reach.
London remains an outlier. Fewer than 100 two and three-bedroom houses in the capital list below the £301,000 threshold, just 0.5 percent of available stock in that category, against an average asking price of £542,500. The North East stays the most affordable region at 83 percent, followed by Scotland at 80 percent and Yorkshire and the Humber at 76 percent.
Zoopla also named hotspot towns where choice is widest. Across them the average asking price for a two or three-bedroom house sits near £189,000, more than £100,000 below the £293,200 national average. In four Scottish towns, Keith, Alloa, Kilwinning and Arbroath, every advertised family house falls below the threshold, while Bootle in Merseyside reaches 98 percent. Zoopla said rising incomes and slower price growth were improving affordability but that borrowing costs kept activity in check.
Sellers accept less as viewings thin out
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s October report on Propertymark data showing viewings halving while 86 percent of sellers accept below asking. Read together, the two datasets describe buyers who can afford more homes yet refuse to chase: stock looks reachable, but only at the right price and rate. That mood also fits record advertised rents above £1,400, which keep many would-be buyers renting while they wait for borrowing costs to ease.
Full regional figures appear in Zoopla’s latest housing research, which notes an average of around 90 properties for sale in each hotspot, giving buyers genuine choice rather than a handful of cheaper listings.
What this means for landlords
- If you are buying: hotspot towns with 90-plus affordable listings and sellers accepting below asking offer real negotiating room, especially outside the South East.
- If you hold family houses: more tenants can now afford to buy, so retention on three-bed stock may soften where local affordability has improved fastest.
- Watch for: mortgage rates dipping back toward 5 percent, which Zoopla’s figures suggest is the trigger that turns paper affordability into agreed sales.
- Bottom line: affordability gains favour patient buyers over bidding wars, which suits landlords expanding selectively but warns against overpaying for stock tenants can now rival them for.
Editor’s view
Half of family homes affordable sounds like a sellers’ market, but 9 percent fewer sales says otherwise. For landlords the signal is clear: money is waiting on the sidelines until rates cooperate, and anyone buying now should price in that hesitation rather than fight it.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 15 October 2026
Sources: Zoopla
Related reading: Propertymark: viewings halve as 86% of sellers accept below asking
