Our monthly Property Surveying summary of property market news, survey data, statistics, trends and information. (All figures below are the most recently available data.)
Data source: Land Registry
UK average house price = £249,633, 1.2% change in the month, 7.6% up in the year. Monthly index figures (where January 2015 = 100) 130.9
London and Yorkshire and The Humber showed the strongest house price growth in the year to November 2020, at 9.7%. While the East of England was the region with the lowest growth at 4.8%, this was a rise on October 2020 when it was 4.3%.
Price expectations remain moderate over the comining months although there is pressure from buyers hoping to complete their house purchases before the end of the stamp duty holiday in March 2021.
The Bank of England reported that the number of mortgage approvals increased to the highest levels since August 2007.
UK average house price = £253,374, up 0.2% in the month, 2.6% up in the quarter, up 6.0% in the year.
A strong end to the year, with strong demand after pent-up demand and the end of the stamp duty holiday approaching. Larger homes and rural properties are more in demand than other properties, and mortgage approvals are at their highest level since 2007.
A slow down in the property market is anticipated over the next twelve months, with downward pressure on house prices, following the end of the government’s support measures.
England and Wales average house asking price = £317,058, down -0.9% in the month and up 3.3% in the year.
The average sale price of property coming onto the market is still falling, with an average drop of £2,887 in January, possibly as a result of new sellers hoping to sell quickly before the end of the stamp duty holiday. However, the average property sale now takes over four months to complete so new property coming onto the market now is unlikely to beat the deadline.
Approximately 613,000 sales currently ‘subject to contract’ are awaiting completion and Rightmove suggests around 100,000 will fail to complete before 31st March.
UK average house price = £230,920, 0.8% change in the month and 7.3% increase in the year.
House prices rose annually in December at the highest rate since January 2015. Market momentum is slowing down, mainly due to economic issues associated with the pandemic. An uncertain outlook will reflect how policy measures can limit damage to the economy.
Average England and Wales house price = £326,762, 1.4% change in the month, 7.8% in the year.
Over the ten years to December 2020, house prices have increased by 51% (from £216,000 to £326,500). Taking into account movement in the CPIH price index, the average house price in real terms has increased by 32% over the decade.
HM Land Registry has issued partial releases of market data since April 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations. Datasets are available.
REGIONAL HOUSE PRICES
UK HPI Regional figures
(all percentages are positive unless indicated otherwise)
| November 2020 | Average price GBP | % monthly change | % annual change |
| England | £266,742 | 1.2% | 7.6% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 – 2020) | £143,205 | 1.5% | 2.4% |
| Scotland | £165,703 | 0.9% | 8.6% |
| Wales | £180,229 | 2.0% | 7.0% |
| East Midlands | £208,662 | 0.6% | 7.1% |
| East of England | £302,624 | -0.3% | 4.8% |
| London | £513,997 | 4.0% | 9.7% |
| North East | £140,248 | 2.6% | 8.3% |
| North West | £180,280 | 0.2% | 8.5% |
| South East | £342,271 | 1.2% | 6.2% |
| South West | £278,391 | 1.1% | 8.5% |
| West Midlands | £213,974 | 1.0% | 6.9% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £180,856 | 1.9% | 9.7% |
UK HPI Average monthly price by property type
| Property type | November 2020 | November 2019 | Difference |
| Detached | £388,130 | £353,249 | 8.5% |
| Semi-detached | £238,221 | £221,620 | 7.5% |
| Terraced | £203,717 | £188,207 | 8.2% |
| Flat or maisonette | £213,303 | £202,398 | 5.4% |
| All | £249,633 | £232,100 | 7.6% |
Rightmove regional figures
| January 2020 | Average price GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| London | £604,055 | -1.7% | -1.4% |
| South East | £409,203 | -1.4% | 2.3% |
| South West | £321,945 | 0.6% | 6.1% |
| East of England | £365,423 | -0.1% | 4.2% |
| West Midlands | £244,233 | 0.6% | 6.1% |
| East Midlands | £241,640 | -0.5% | 5.0% |
| North West | £210,365 | -2.1% | 7.0% |
| Wales | £210,073 | -0.4 | 8.8% |
| Yorkshire & Humberside | £202,608 | -2.2% | 6.4% |
| North East | £155,928 | -2.2% | 5.3% |
Nationwide regional figures
| Q3: 3 months to December 2020 | Average House Price (£) GBP | Annual % change (this quarter) | Annual % change (previous quarter) |
| N Ireland | £149,382 | 5.9% | 1.5% |
| North West | £176,925 | 8.0% | 3.0% |
| East Midlands | £200,951 | 8.6% | 4.0% |
| West Midlands | £207,603 | 7.5% | 3.1% |
| Scotland | £156,768 | 3.2% | 2.0% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £172,326 | 7.7% | 4.6% |
| East Anglia | £242,804 | 6.4% | 2.7% |
| Wales | £169,846 | 6.6% | 3.8% |
| North | £137,531 | 6.5% | 4.2% |
| South West | £264.512 | 6.6% | 5.5% |
| Outer South East | £296,291 | 8.0% | 4.8% |
| Outer Met | £377,677 | 5.6% | 5.0% |
| London | £486,562 | 6.2% | 4.4% |
| UK | £229,819 | 6.4% | 3.5% |
LSL Acadata Regional Data
| November 2020 | Average House Price £ GBP | Monthly % change | Annual % Change Greater |
| Greater London | £638,110 | 1.0% | 3.3% |
| South East | £406,469 | 0.8% | 7.0% |
| South West | £323,034 | 1.9% | 10.9% |
| East of England | £351,179 | 0.6% | 5.5% |
| West Midlands | £248,346 | 1.5% | 7.1% |
| East Midlands | £241,247 | 1.8% | 7.4% |
| North West | £213,977 | 2.4% | 9.0% |
| Wales | £206,908 | 2.4% | 6.9% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £213,247 | 1.8% | 7.4% |
| North East | £177,163 | 1.2% | 6.1% |
Focus on London
Best and Worst (-) annual performers according to:
| Rightmove January 2020 |
Average Price (£) GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| Haringey | £636,319 | -2.1% | 10.3% |
| Bexley | £433,659 | 0.5% | 7.7% |
| Tower Hamlets | £565,163 | -0.2% | -5.6% |
| Westminster | £1,363,803 | -4.6% | -5.8% |
| LCL Acadata November 2020 |
Average Price (£) GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| Merton | £793,126 | 7.0% | 26.4% |
| Hounslow | £623.232 | 3.8% | 22.1% |
| Hackney | £648,901 | -2.4% | -12.0% |
| City of Westminster | £1,223,027 | -7.4% | -36.5% |
RICS Survey Overview
The RICS Residential Market Survey for December 2020 reported positivity on enquiries, sales and instructions, although interest is slowing down. The expectation remains of falling momentum over the next few months.
Landlord instructions continued to fall meaning rental growth is likely to be slightly strengthened, with the exception of London where many surveyors expect rents to fall in the next three months.
Rightmove.co.uk is the UKs 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.
The Monthly Market Fact File will be updated next month.
SH/LCB