Taking the Temperature of Your Pocket, June 2026 Inflation & Affordability Update
Think back to exactly five years ago. Walking down the high street in 2021, the price of a loaf of bread, a pint of milk, or even a cheeky bag of chips felt remarkably different, didn’t it? It’s almost like the property market is a giant sourdough starter; it needs the right temperature and the right ingredients to rise properly. If the oven is too hot, everything burns; if it’s too cold, nothing moves.
Right now, we are dealing with something called "inflation." I like to think of inflation as a sneaky little gremlin that nibbles away at the value of the coins in your pocket. If inflation is at 3%—which is exactly where it sits this June—it means that something that cost you £100 last year now costs £103. It’s the reason your weekly shop feels a bit heavier on the wallet and why filling up the car takes a few more pounds than it used to.
But here’s the interesting bit: while the cost of things has gone up by 3%, the average person’s pay cheque has actually grown by 3.7%.
Did you know that this creates a "secret bonus" for your shopping power? Because your wages are growing faster than the price of milk and bread (by about 0.7%), you actually have a tiny bit more "jingle" in your pocket at the end of the month than you did previously. It’s like walking up an escalator that’s moving down—as long as you’re walking faster than the stairs are moving, you’re still gaining ground!
So, what does this mean for your home? Well, the "Bank of England Base Rate"—which is basically the fee the big banks pay to borrow money—is sitting steady at 3.75%. Because our wages are finally beating the rising costs of living, it’s becoming a little bit easier for people to save for a deposit or manage their monthly mortgage payments.
In fact, we’re seeing more people getting "the thumbs up" from banks to buy homes. This month, about 63,500 people across the country got the green light to move, which is more than we saw back in March. Even though the average price of a home across the UK has dipped slightly to £284,862 (down just 0.4% compared to last year), the fact that people have more spending power means the market is feeling a lot healthier and steadier.
Now, how does this big national picture trickle down to us here in NE28?
When people nationally feel like they have a bit more breathing room in their budgets, it keeps the demand high in our local neighbourhood. In NE28, we are firmly in a "seller's market." This means there are more people looking to move in than there are houses available—currently, we only have 134 properties for sale across the whole postcode sector. With local sold prices over the last year averaging around £147,539, the national trend of rising wages makes our local homes look very attractive and affordable to buyers.
It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster over the last few years, hasn't it? But seeing wages grow faster than prices is the best news we’ve had in a long time. It means that for families in NE28, the dream of moving to a house with a bigger garden or finally getting onto the ladder is becoming a reality rather than just a "maybe one day" plan. Things are looking up!