Hertsmere's average fell 2.4% in July, among the steepest monthly falls in England, and now sits 6.4% below its 2022 record, furthest of any Herts district.
The average home in Hertsmere sold for £548,704 in July 2026. That is £13,751 less than in June, a fall of 2.4% in a single month.
HM Land Registry published the figures on Wednesday. Only six of England’s 295 local authority districts recorded a bigger monthly fall.
Over twelve months the picture is calmer. Prices are still up 1.3% on July 2025, slightly ahead of England’s 1.1% but well behind Hertfordshire’s 2.7%.
Further from the record than anywhere else in the county
Hertsmere’s highest ever average was £585,933 in October 2022. July’s figure is £37,229 below that, a gap of 6.4%.
A month ago the borough was third furthest from its own record among Hertfordshire’s ten districts. It is now the furthest. Meanwhile England as a whole set a new record in July, at £293,479.
| District | July 2026 | Record month | Gap to record |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Albans | £646,781 | June 2026 | -0.1% |
| East Hertfordshire | £457,417 | June 2026 | -0.2% |
| North Hertfordshire | £418,857 | November 2025 | -0.5% |
| Dacorum | £459,235 | November 2025 | -1.6% |
| Broxbourne | £411,689 | February 2026 | -1.6% |
| Welwyn Hatfield | £448,681 | August 2022 | -3.0% |
| Three Rivers | £590,816 | September 2022 | -3.8% |
| Watford | £404,299 | October 2022 | -4.3% |
| Stevenage | £316,210 | November 2022 | -5.7% |
| Hertsmere | £548,704 | October 2022 | -6.4% |
The two neighbours Hertsmere was grouped with last month moved the other way. Three Rivers rose 2.6% in July and Watford rose 2.1%. Stevenage was the only other Hertfordshire district with a sharp monthly fall, at 2.2%.
Hertsmere is still the third most expensive district in the county to buy in, behind St Albans and Three Rivers.
Every type of home fell
The drop was not confined to one part of the market. Each property type fell between 1.9% and 2.8% on the month:
- Detached: £1,200,351, down 1.9% on June, up 2.1% on a year ago
- Semi-detached: £615,098, down 2.6%, up 2.6% on a year ago
- Terraced: £486,991, down 2.3%, up 2.1% on a year ago
- Flats and maisonettes: £291,783, down 2.8%, and down 1.1% on a year ago
Flats are the only type now cheaper than they were twelve months earlier.
First-time buyers paid an average of £407,664, down 2.6% on the month and up 0.9% on the year. The England figure is £245,515, so a first home in Hertsmere costs 66% more than the national average.
Why one month should be read with care
The UK House Price Index average is a mean, not a median. For a district of Hertsmere’s size it rests on a small number of sales each month. May’s figure, the most recent month with a published count, was built on 61 sales. One or two large transactions can move it.
The borough has seen falls like this before and recovered quickly. In July 2024 the average also fell 2.4%, then rose 2.2% the following month.
The figures are also revised as more sales are registered. This release moved both of the previous two months:
- June was first published at £560,436. It now reads £562,455, revised up by £2,019.
- May was £560,342 in last month’s release. It now reads £557,293, revised down by £3,049.
So the June level we reported last month was too low, and the July fall is measured from a higher starting point. The July figure itself will be revised next month.
How Hertsmere compares
| Area | Average | Month | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Albans | £646,781 | -0.1% | +2.3% |
| Barnet | £600,560 | +1.1% | -4.9% |
| Three Rivers | £590,816 | +2.6% | +2.3% |
| Hertsmere | £548,704 | -2.4% | +1.3% |
| Enfield | £470,988 | -0.8% | +0.6% |
| Hertfordshire | £469,474 | +0.1% | +2.7% |
| Welwyn Hatfield | £448,681 | -0.3% | +3.0% |
| Watford | £404,299 | +2.1% | -0.7% |
| East of England | £337,518 | +0.5% | +0.5% |
| England | £293,479 | +0.7% | +1.1% |
Barnet, immediately south of Borehamwood, is down 4.9% on the year. Nationally, 85 of the 295 districts recorded an annual fall. Hertsmere’s 1.3% rise ranks 129th from the bottom.
What it means for you
If you are selling, July is a weak month on paper, but it is one month. Over the past thirteen months the borough average has stayed between £539,995 and £562,455. Price against recent sales on your own street, not against a headline in either direction.
If you are buying a flat, this is the one part of the market where prices are lower than a year ago, at £291,783 on average. That gives an offer below asking some support.
If you bought in 2022, the borough average is still £37,229 below its October 2022 record. Even before allowing for inflation, the average is lower than it was nearly four years ago.
If you want the local picture, the borough average blends four very different towns. Our Borehamwood house prices page splits sold prices by town and postcode, with Borehamwood’s median at £445,000 against Radlett’s £782,500. Every individual sale can be checked on the Land Registry price paid service.
The August 2026 figures are due from HM Land Registry in October.
Sources
- HM Land Registry, UK House Price Index full file for July 2026, published 16 September 2026, for every average, monthly and annual change, property type and first-time buyer figure, sales count, record month and district ranking in this report.
- HM Land Registry UKHPI open data for Hertsmere, July 2026, used to check the borough figures.
- HM Land Registry, UK House Price Index full file for June 2026, for the previously published May and June figures used to measure the revisions.
- UK House Price Index reports and methodology, for the note that the reported average is a mean and that recent months are revised.
Have your say