Hackney housing statistics 2026: house prices, property types and planning data

Hackney is one of the most flat-heavy boroughs in London, with a house price that sits well above the London average and a planning system shaped by 35 conservation areas. This page collects the official numbers on Hackney housing in one place.

Every figure is taken from the Office for National Statistics, HM Land Registry, Hackney Council or the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, with the data month stated. We update it as each release lands.

If you are weighing up whether to extend, convert or renovate rather than move, these are the numbers that frame that decision.

What is the average house price in Hackney?

The average house price in Hackney was £619,000 in August 2026, according to ONS and HM Land Registry UK House Price Index data published 21 October 2026. That is a 1.6% fall on August 2025, a smaller drop than London as a whole, where prices fell 2.2% to £554,000.

For context, the UK average was £273,000 in the same month. A Hackney home therefore costs roughly 2.3 times the national average and around 12% more than the London average.

Short-term local figures bounce around because they rest on a smaller number of sales, so the ONS advises reading them over a year or more. The direction over the past twelve months is a modest correction, not a slide.

How much do different property types cost in Hackney?

Terraced houses in Hackney averaged £989,000 in August 2026, while flats and maisonettes averaged £536,000, according to the UK House Price Index for August 2026. Semi-detached homes averaged £1,229,000 and the small number of detached homes £1,369,000.

That gap matters. The difference between a Hackney flat and a Hackney terrace is around £450,000, which is the single biggest reason owners of two-bedroom flats look hard at whether a loft conversion in Hackney or a house extension in Hackney can add the space they need without the cost of trading up.

The types also moved differently over the year. Semi-detached prices rose 2.0% while flat prices fell 2.3%, so houses held their value better than flats across 2025 to 2026.

Source: UK House Price Index, ONS and HM Land Registry, August 2026 (provisional).

What do first-time buyers and home movers pay in Hackney?

First-time buyers in Hackney paid an average of £562,000 in August 2026, while home movers paid £764,000, according to the UK House Price Index for August 2026. Buyers using a mortgage averaged £614,000 and cash buyers £639,000.

The £200,000 gap between a first purchase and a second one is the "next step" cost in Hackney. It is the figure a growing household is really comparing against when they price up a full home renovation in Hackney of the property they already own.

How many homes are sold in Hackney each month?

Hackney recorded 115 residential sales in December 2025, down from 179 in December 2024, according to the UK House Price Index England report for February 2026. Sales volumes are published with a lag, so the latest complete month sits a few months behind the price data.

A thinner market tends to push owners towards improving rather than selling. Fewer transactions also means each monthly price figure rests on fewer sales, which is why the ONS flags local prices as more variable than national ones.

What is the average rent in Hackney?

The average private rent in Hackney was £2,667 a month in September 2026, up 3.9% on a year earlier, according to the ONS Price Index of Private Rents, published 21 October 2026. London rents rose 3.5% over the same period to £2,338.

The rent data is a useful yardstick for landlords weighing up a bathroom renovation in Hackney or a kitchen refit. A three-bedroom house lets for around £850 a month more than a two-bedroom flat in the borough.

What types of homes are there in Hackney?

Flats make up 83.8% of Hackney's housing stock, houses 15.9% and bungalows 0.2%, according to Hackney Council's Housing Strategy presentation of January 2025, citing Census 2021. The borough had 119,090 dwellings and 106,087 households in 2022.

That makes Hackney one of the most flat-dominated boroughs in the country. It also explains the shape of local renovation demand: a kitchen renovation in Hackney is more often a reconfiguration of a flat than an extension of a house, and the houses that do exist, mostly Victorian terraces, are where loft, basement and rear extension work concentrates.

The historical stock backs that up. British History Online records Hackney growing from 9,027 inhabited houses in 1851 to 28,422 by 1891, which is the Victorian terrace fabric that still defines De Beauvoir, Stoke Newington, Clapton and London Fields.

Who owns the homes in Hackney?

Only 24.6% of Hackney households are owner occupiers, with 32.4% renting privately and 43.0% in affordable housing, according to Hackney Council's Housing Strategy presentation, January 2025, citing Census 2021. On the ONS dwelling-stock measure, Hackney had the highest share of social-rented homes of any English local authority in 2021, at 40%, and the lowest share of owner-occupied homes, at 28%.

For renovation that means the owner-occupied market is smaller than the price data suggests, concentrated in the house stock, and more likely to be a long-term home than a quick flip. It is a market that improves rather than churns.

How many conservation areas does Hackney have?

Hackney has 35 conservation areas, according to Hackney Council's conservation areas map, accessed October 2026. The first four, Clapton Square, Clapton Common, Clapton Pond and Clissold Park, were designated in 1969. The council also lists around 1,300 listed buildings in the borough.

Inside a conservation area the council states that alterations and extensions which would not normally need permission, such as minor roof alterations and dormer windows, may require a planning application. Demolition of a building in a conservation area needs planning permission and unauthorised demolition is a criminal offence.

The 35 areas include De Beauvoir, Stoke Newington, Dalston, Clapton Square, Victoria Park, Graham Road and Mapledene, Queensbridge Road, Kingsland, Hackney Wick, South Shoreditch and Well Street. Several of them cover exactly the Victorian terraces where loft and basement work is most common, which is why a basement conversion in Hackney starts with a boundary check before anything else.

You can read more about how consent works on estates in our guide to renovating on London's great estates.

How long does a householder planning application take in Hackney?

Hackney Council states it processes major applications within 13 weeks and all other applications, including householder applications, within eight weeks, according to Hackney Council's planning application guidance. The council also states that 95% of applications are decided by officers under delegated powers rather than by committee.

Nationally, authorities granted 90% of householder applications and decided 93% within eight weeks or an agreed extension in the year to June 2026, according to MHCLG's planning applications statistical release for April to June 2026.

How energy efficient are Hackney homes?

The ONS publishes Energy Performance Certificate statistics for every local authority, and across Hackney the most common improvement recommended on certificates is wall insulation, which reflects the borough's solid-brick Victorian stock. Where a home sits below band C, insulation is usually the first step towards it.

That is relevant to anyone planning a home renovation in Hackney, because internal wall insulation on a solid-brick terrace is one of the few jobs that is easier to do during a renovation than after it. Our guide to insulating a solid brick wall from the inside covers the Part L trigger and the 0.30 W/m2K target.

Hackney housing statistics at a glance

Renovating in Hackney with Beams

Kitchen renovation in Hackney · Bathroom renovation in Hackney · Loft conversion in Hackney · Basement conversion in Hackney · House extensions in Hackney · Home renovation in Hackney · Interior design in Hackney · Builders in Hackney

Frequently asked questions about Hackney housing

Is Hackney more expensive than the London average?

Yes. At £619,000 in August 2026 the average Hackney home cost around 12% more than the London average of £554,000, according to the UK House Price Index.

Are house prices in Hackney going up or down?

Down slightly. Prices fell 1.6% in the year to August 2026, a smaller fall than London's 2.2%. Semi-detached houses rose 2.0% while flats fell 2.3%.

What proportion of Hackney homes are flats?

83.8% of Hackney dwellings are flats, according to Hackney Council's January 2025 housing strategy data drawn from Census 2021. Houses make up 15.9%.

Do I need planning permission to extend a house in a Hackney conservation area?

Possibly. Hackney Council states that in its 35 conservation areas you may need permission for alterations or extensions that would not normally need it, including roof alterations and dormer windows. Check the council's conservation areas map for your address.

Sources

1. ONS, Housing prices in Hackney, UK House Price Index and Price Index of Private Rents, updated 21 October 2026. Cited for house prices by type and buyer, rents, London and UK comparisons.
2. HM Land Registry and ONS, UK House Price Index England: February 2026. Cited for Hackney sales volumes.
3. Hackney Council, Conservation areas map, accessed 23 October 2026. Cited for 35 conservation areas, 1969 designations and effects of designation.
4. Hackney Council, Conservation and urban design. Cited for around 1,300 listed buildings.
5. Hackney Council, Submit your planning application. Cited for 8 and 13 week targets and 95% delegated decisions.
6. Hackney Council, Housing Policy and Strategy presentation, January 2025, citing Census 2021. Cited for dwellings, households, stock by type and tenure.
7. ONS, Subnational dwelling stock by tenure estimates, England, 2021. Cited for highest social-rented and lowest owner-occupied shares.
8. MHCLG, Planning applications in England: April to June 2026. Cited for national householder grant and in-time rates.
9. British History Online, Hackney: Building after c.1800. Cited for 1851 and 1891 house counts.