The district average rose 1.1% in June, the third-biggest jump in Hampshire. Flats are the only type still falling, and May was revised up by £532.
The average New Forest home was worth £380,310 in June, up £4,050 on May and £4,475 on a year earlier. The figures come from the Land Registry UK House Price Index, published on 19 August.
A 1.1 per cent rise in a single month is the district’s biggest since July last year, and it reverses a slide that had run from January to April. It also puts New Forest third of Hampshire’s eleven districts for monthly growth, behind East Hampshire and Havant, which both rose 1.3 per cent.
One caveat before the numbers, because it changes how you read all of them. The UK House Price Index is a mean average across every sale in the district, not a median. A handful of large sales at Beaulieu or Milford on Sea pulls the figure up in a way it would not pull up a median. It is a useful measure of direction, and a poor guide to what any particular house is worth.
Flats are the only type still falling
The recovery is not spread evenly. Semi-detached and terraced homes are doing the work; flats are going backwards.
| Type | June 2026 | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £576,165 | +£5,294 (+0.9%) |
| Semi-detached | £366,192 | +£8,007 (+2.2%) |
| Terraced | £296,504 | +£6,448 (+2.2%) |
| Flat or maisonette | £195,788 | -£1,202 (-0.6%) |
| First-time buyer average | £288,704 | +£4,418 (+1.6%) |
Flats are the cheapest way into the district and the only type worth less than a year ago. At £195,788 the average New Forest flat is now £100,716 below the average terraced house, a gap that has widened over the year as one rose and the other fell.
Still £38,472 below the 2022 peak
Set against the longer run, June’s rise is a dent in a much bigger hole.
The district’s high point was £418,782 in September 2022. June’s £380,310 is £38,472, or 9.2 per cent, below it, nearly four years on. That gap did narrow this month, from 10.2 per cent in May, but a district average that is still a tenth below where it stood in 2022 is not a recovered market.
Where that leaves the New Forest against its neighbours
Two comparisons are worth making, and they point in opposite directions.
The first is a coincidence, but a telling one. The New Forest average is now within £70 of the South East average, which stood at £380,380 in June. One of the most expensive-sounding places in southern England sits almost exactly on the regional middle. That is what a district containing both Totton and Beaulieu looks like in a single number.
The second is the Dorset border. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole fell 0.5 per cent in June and is down 1.6 per cent on the year, at £312,162. Ringwood and New Milton households looking across the county line are watching a market moving the other way.
Among the Hampshire districts, June’s picture splits cleanly:
- Rising fastest on the month: East Hampshire and Havant, both +1.3%, then New Forest, +1.1%.
- Falling fastest on the month: Winchester, -1.4%, then Gosport, -1.0%, and Hart, -0.7%.
- Most expensive: Hart at £479,978, Winchester at £471,136 and East Hampshire at £446,392. New Forest is fourth of the eleven.
Note what Winchester’s month does not tell you: it is still up 4.6 per cent on the year, the strongest annual figure in the county, and a single soft month does not undo that. Monthly changes in this index are noisy. The annual figures are the ones to lean on.
May was quietly revised upwards
Anyone who read last month’s release will have a different number in their head, and that is not a mistake on either side. May’s average was first published as £375,728 and has now been revised up to £376,260, a change of £532, with the annual change moving from +0.6 to +0.8 per cent.
This happens every month. The Land Registry recalculates recent months as more completed sales are lodged, and the first release of any month is always the least reliable one. It is worth knowing when a figure gets quoted at you as final.
June’s sales volume has not been published yet for the same reason. The most recent month with a confirmed count is April, at 128 sales.
What it means for you
If you are selling, June is the first genuinely positive month since December, but the type matters more than the district figure. A semi or a terrace is worth about 2 per cent more than a year ago. A flat is worth slightly less.
If you are buying, the district average is a mean and is dragged up by the top end. Look at the figure for the type of home you actually want, and at your town rather than the district. Our New Forest house prices page breaks the district down by town, and the spread between Brockenhurst and Totton is close to half a million pounds.
If you are a first-time buyer, the relevant number is £288,704, up £4,418 on the year. Flats, at an average £195,788, are the only part of the market that got cheaper.
If you are watching supply, the New Forest planning news page tracks the applications and the district’s housing land position, which is the other half of this story.
Frequently asked questions
How much did New Forest house prices rise in June 2026?
The district average rose 1.1 per cent in the month, from £376,260 to £380,310, and 1.2 per cent over the year. In cash terms that is £4,050 on the month and £4,475 on the year.
Why has May’s figure changed since last month?
Because the Land Registry revises it. May was first published at £375,728 and has been revised up to £376,260 in this release, as more completed sales were lodged. Every recent month is provisional, and the first release of any month is the least reliable.
Are New Forest house prices back to their 2022 level?
No. The district peaked at £418,782 in September 2022. June 2026’s £380,310 is £38,472, or 9.2 per cent, below that. The gap narrowed from 10.2 per cent in May.
Which type of home is falling in the New Forest?
Flats and maisonettes, the only type worth less than a year ago, at an average £195,788, down 0.6 per cent. Semi-detached and terraced homes both rose 2.2 per cent, and detached rose 0.9 per cent.
Is the New Forest more expensive than the rest of the South East?
Barely. The district average of £380,310 is £70 below the South East average of £380,380. Among Hampshire’s eleven districts the New Forest is fourth most expensive, behind Hart, Winchester and East Hampshire.
Sources
- HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, New Forest district, for the June 2026 district average, the breakdown by property type, the first-time buyer average, the revised May figure and the September 2022 peak.
- UK House Price Index for June 2026, HM Land Registry, published 19 August 2026, for the release date and methodology.
- UK House Price Index regional and district data for the same month, for the South East average of £380,380; Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole at £312,162; and the eleven Hampshire district figures quoted.
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