The average Tunbridge Wells home lost £13,860 in a year, to £445,133. It is the only one of Kent's 13 areas down over 12 months, and the lowest since March 2025.

The average home in Tunbridge Wells borough was worth £445,133 in June, down 3.0% on a year earlier. That is a fall of £13,860 in twelve months, and it makes this the only one of Kent’s thirteen local authority areas where prices are lower than they were last June.

The figures come from the UK House Price Index for June 2026, published by HM Land Registry on 19 August. Prices here also fell 1.4% in the single month from May.

Every other Kent area rose over the year. The county as a whole was up 2.1%, to an average of £346,118. England was up 1.8%.

Where the borough sits against its neighbours

UK House Price Index, June 2026, average price and change over twelve months
AreaAverage priceChange on the year
Sevenoaks£543,081+3.2%
Tunbridge Wells£445,133-3.0%
Tonbridge and Malling£405,932+2.6%
Wealden£386,787-0.7%
Maidstone£352,191+0.1%
Kent£346,118+2.1%
England£293,262+1.8%

Wealden, the East Sussex district that runs along the borough’s southern boundary, is also down, by 0.7%. Beyond that the pattern stops. Sevenoaks and Tonbridge and Malling, the two Kent districts we share a border with, both rose by more than 2.5%.

Nationally, Tunbridge Wells had the 20th steepest annual fall of the 295 local authority areas in England. Sixty-two of them fell.

Twelve-month change in average house price, Kent local authority areas, June 2026 Bar chart of the twelve-month change in average house price for each of Kent's thirteen local authority areas in June 2026. Swale plus 4.5 per cent, Dover plus 4.5 per cent, Dartford plus 3.8 per cent, Canterbury plus 3.3 per cent, Sevenoaks plus 3.2 per cent, Tonbridge and Malling plus 2.6 per cent, Gravesham plus 2.4 per cent, Folkestone and Hythe plus 2.4 per cent, Medway plus 1.1 per cent, Thanet plus 0.9 per cent, Ashford plus 0.3 per cent, Maidstone plus 0.1 per cent, Tunbridge Wells minus 3.0 per cent. Tunbridge Wells is the only area below zero. Tunbridge Wells is the only Kent area where prices fell Change in average house price, June 2025 to June 2026. Source: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, June 2026. -3% -2% -1% 0% +1% +2% +3% +4% Swale +4.5% Dover +4.5% Dartford +3.8% Canterbury +3.3% Sevenoaks +3.2% Tonbridge and Malling +2.6% Gravesham +2.4% Folkestone and Hythe +2.4% Medway +1.1% Thanet +0.9% Ashford +0.3% Maidstone +0.1% Tunbridge Wells -3.0% Graphic by T Wells Today
Every other Kent area rose over the year. Kent as a whole was up 2.1%.

Flats fell fastest, detached houses lost the most money

The fall was not spread evenly across property types.

Tunbridge Wells borough average price by property type, June 2026, and change over twelve months
TypeAverage priceChange on the year
Detached£848,254-3.6%
Semi-detached£491,869-1.9%
Terraced£397,315-1.8%
Flat£253,309-4.7%

Flats fell furthest in percentage terms, at 4.7%. Detached houses fell 3.6%, which on an average of £848,254 is roughly £31,000 of value.

Two other figures in the release are worth pulling out. The average paid by a first-time buyer in the borough was £342,501, down 2.7% on the year. The average paid by someone who already owned a home was £558,617, down 3.1%.

The longer view

June’s £445,133 is the lowest monthly figure the index has recorded for this borough since March 2025, when it stood at £439,953.

It is also £26,118 below the December 2022 peak of £471,251, a fall of 5.5% over three and a half years, before inflation is taken into account.

The index has been drifting down since last summer. June 2025 was £458,993. The run since then has been mostly small monthly falls with occasional rises, and the annual comparison only turned negative this spring.

One caution about the numbers. May’s figure has already been revised. When the May index was first published on 31 July it put the borough at £452,286. In this release May is restated at £451,237, £1,049 lower. Land Registry revises each month as more completed sales are registered, so the newest month is always the least settled.

What it means for you

  • The UK House Price Index is a mean average, not a median. It is modelled from registered sales and is the right thing to watch for direction of travel, not for valuing a particular house.
  • A borough-wide figure hides a lot. Our own analysis of Land Registry completed sales puts the middle home sold here over the last twelve months at £430,000, and Speldhurst at £800,000 against Rusthall at £380,000. The Tunbridge Wells house prices page has the breakdown by parish, ward and property type.
  • If you are selling, the comparison that matters is local. Sevenoaks and Tonbridge and Malling both rose while this borough fell, so a price set from a west Kent average will be wrong in both directions depending on which side of the boundary you are.
  • If you are buying your first home, the borough average for a first-time buyer purchase is £342,501, about £102,000 below the overall average.
  • Do not read one month as a trend. The monthly numbers are revised, sometimes by more than £1,000, and the June figure will move again.

Related: Tunbridge Wells house prices by parish, Tunbridge Wells planning news and trains to London.

Sources