Our monthly Property Surveying summary of property market news, survey data, statistics, trends and information. (All figures below are the most recently available data.)
UK House Price Index
Data source: Land Registry
UK average house price = £234,612, -0.2% change in the month, 2.6% up in the year. Monthly index (where January 2015 = 100) is 123.0
These figures were published for April 2020 and were published on 19th August, having previously been suspended by the government because of coronavirus.
Further updates will be published at intervals over the coming months, with August 2020 due to for publication on 21st October.
Halifax
UK average house price = £241,604, up 1.6% in the month, down -0.2% up in the quarter, up 3.8% in the year.
The Halifax August index reported a ‘mini-boom’, taking house prices to their highest level since the index began. Demand after lockdown plus low levels of available homes were pushing prices higher.
There is a danger that the withdrawal of government support may have a negative effect on the housing market, particularly as confidence in employment levels becomes more uncertain.
Average house asking price = £319,497, up -0.2% since March and 4.6% in the year.
Rightmove’s August figures reflected a confident housing market with record house prices, buyer enquiries, properties coming onto the market and agreed house sales – all of which, in most areas, were at their highest since at least March 2008.
An ‘out-of-city exodus’ from London has negatively affected the national average house price. This is reflected in an increase in property values in other areas, particularly in rural and coastal locations such as the South West.
The London Trend’s Report has again not been published this month.
UK average house price = £220,936, 1.7% change in the month and 1.5% increase in the year.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Nationwide reported that July’s house prices were -1.6% lower than April. There has been an unexpected recovery in housing activity since the end of lockdown, reflecting pent up demand where housing transactions had been prevented because of lockdown.
There was a boost to activity by people reassessing their housing needs, with a survey reporting that 15% of people considered moving because of lockdown.
The stamp duty holiday should boost housing activity in the near future but, with a weakening labour market, this could yet prove to be a ‘false dawn’.
Wealthier households would most benefit from the stamp duty holiday, particularly those living in London and the South East where average house prices are the highest. In other areas, particularly the North of England, there would be little benefit.
Average England and Wales house price = £298,842, 0.5% change in the month, 0.4% in the year.
House prices returned to September 2019 levels in July 2020, with most interest being shown in Wales and the South West. Average house prices reached a record £302,195 in February 202 but have since been in decline, reaching £296,667 in May 2020.
Recent house price increases in sought after areas, particularly coastal and rural areas, are as a result in high demand with few new houses coming onto the market.
The introduction of the stamp duty holiday has caused more interest in the housing market but this is expected to contract once the scheme ends which will coincide with a forecast contraction in the wider economy. Lenders were being cautious, with analysts wary that suppressed demand will run out in due course.
HM Revenue & Customs
The provisional number of UK residential property transaction completions (over £40,000) for July 2020 was 70,710, representing a seasonally adjusted decrease of -27.4% from July 2019, and 14.0% increase from June 2020.
The number of non-residential property transactions for July 2020 was 8,380, a decrease of -18.3 from July 2019, and 27.6% increase from June 2020.
Land Registry Price Paid Data
HM Land Registry has not summarised the market data for June 2020 due to the impact of the Covid pandemic on its operations, although datasets are available.
REGIONAL HOUSE PRICES
| UK HPI Regional figures (all percentages are positive unless indicated otherwise) | |||
| March 2020 | Average price GBP | % annual growth | % monthly change |
| England | £248,271 | 2.2% | -0.1% |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 1 – 2020) | 3.8% | 0.2% | |
| Scotland | £141,856 | 1.5% | 0.4% |
| Wales | £161,684 | 1.1% | -2.8% |
| East Midlands | £194,664 | 2.1% | 0.4% |
| East of England | £291,254 | 1.3% | 0.0% |
| London | £485,794 | 4.7% | 1.2% |
| North East | £126,945 | 1.8% | -0.6% |
| North West | £166,202 | 3.4% | 0.2% |
| South East | £323,353 | 2.0% | 0.6% |
| South West | £263,360 | 4.1% | 2.0% |
| West Midlands | £195,917 | 0.4% | -2.3% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £159,208 | -1.0% | -3.6% |
UK HPI Average monthly price by property type
| Property type | March 2020 | March 2019 | Difference |
| Detached | £354,304 | £345,433 | 2.6% |
| Semi-detached | £220,269 | £215,930 | 2.0% |
| Terraced | £186,610 | £183,158 | 1.9% |
| Flat/maisonette | £204,849 | £201,004 | 1.9% |
| All | £231,855 | £227,104 | 2.1% |
Rightmove regional figures
| July 2020 | Average price GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| London | £629,261 | -2.0% | 2.0% |
| South East | £417,987 | -0.2% | 4.2% |
| South West | £323,487 | 1.0% | 5.4% |
| East of England | £364,971 | 0.5% | 3.7% |
| West Midlands | £243,260 | 1.4% | 6.3% |
| East Midlands | £241,749 | 1.4% | 6.3% |
| North West | £210,438 | 1.0% | 5.5% |
| Wales | £212,800 | 2.9% | 5.8% |
| Yorkshire & Humberside | £206,818 | 1.4% | 5.9% |
| North East | £159,700 | 1.7% | 4.6% |
Nationwide regional figures
| Q2: 3 months to June 2020 | Average House Price (£) GBP | Annual % change (this quarter) | Annual % change (previous quarter) |
| N Ireland (low sample size) | £143,437 | 0.1% | 0.7% |
| North West | £170,216 | 4.0% | 0.8% |
| East Midlands | £187,812 | 1.5% | 3.6% |
| West Midlands | £194,577 | 0.6% | 2.5% |
| Scotland | £154,695 | 4.0% | 0.8% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £162,870 | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| East Anglia | £230,652 | 0.7% | 1.3% |
| Wales | £263,089 | 1.0% | 6.4% |
| North | £129,505 | 0.0% | -0.3% |
| South West | £251,392 | 2.3% | 1.5% |
| Outer South East | £282,936 | 2.1% | 1.7% |
| Outer Met | £364,529 | 1.6% | 0.8% |
| London | £475,448 | 2.1% | 1.0% |
| UK | £220,133 | 2.0% | 2.5% |
| LSL Acadata Regional Data – July 2020 | Average House Price £ GBP | Monthly % change | Annual % Change |
| Greater London | £594,765 | 1.1% | -2.1% |
| South East | £381,846 | -0.7% | 1.2% |
| South West | £291,231 | -0.6% | 1.6% |
| East of England | £329,072 | 0.5% | -1.8% |
| West Midlands | £227,424 | 0.7% | -0.4% |
| East Midlands | £218,927 | 0.2% | -1.1% |
| North West | £192,666 | 0.7% | 0.6% |
| Wales | £192,241 | 1.2% | 3.3% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £191,559 | -0.2% | -1.3% |
| North East | £162,747 | 0.9% | -0.5% |
Focus on London -Â Best and Worst (-) annual performers according to:
| Rightmove March 2020 | Average Price (£) GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| Lambeth | £656,625 | 1.3% | 8.6% |
| Kensington & Chelsea | £1,611,065 | 2.8% | 6.8% |
| Wandsworth | £797,854 | 1.4% | 0.0% |
| Havering | £401,493 | 2.1% | -0.9% |
| LCL Acadata June 2020 | Average Price (£) GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| Brent | £484,700 | 3.4% | 19.1% |
| Richmond upon Thames | £863,018 | 0.2% | 6.6% |
| Greenwich | £403,461 | -4.1% | -16.8% |
| Hammersmith & Fulham | £761,849 | 1.3% | -17.7% |
RICS Survey Overview
The RICS Residential Market Survey for July 2020 reported a noticeable improvement in homebuyer enquiries, agreed sales and house sales instructions. Modest price reductions were seen from the previous month indicating a recovery in the housing market, but house sale expectations over the next twelve months remain subdued.
In the lettings market, tenant demand increased over the month and landlord instructions were similar to June. An increase of around 1% rental growth is expected nationally in the next twelve months.
Rightmove.co.uk is the UK’s leading property website, displaying details of homes for sale or rent to the largest online audience. It is consistently ranked the number one property website in the UK (source: Experian Hitwise). It has around 90% of all properties for sale and at any time displays a stock of over one million properties to buy or rent, worth around £270 billion. The Rightmove.co.uk site attracts over 130 million visits from home movers each month with time on site averaging over one billion minutes per month (Rightmove data, 2017).
LSL Acad E&W HPI is derived from Land Registry (LR) house price data, seasonally and mix adjusted by property type. © Crown copyright material reproduced with the permission of Land Registry. The prices are smoothed to show underlying trends. LSL Acad E&W HPI includes cash purchase prices and is the only index based upon the complete, factual house price data for England & Wales, as opposed to a sample.
UK HPI: Monthly house price inflation, calculated using data from Land Registry, Registers of Scotland and Land and Property Services Northern Ireland. This replaces the previous House Price Indices separately published by Office of National Statistics and Land Registry.
All figures within this article are correct at the time of going to press, and are reproduced in good faith. No responsibility will be taken for any decisions taken based on the information contained herein. Always seek professional advice.
Next Monthly Market Fact File due in September.
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