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 = £254,624, -1.9% change in the month, 10.0% up in the year. Monthly index (where January 2015 = 100) 133.5
Another increase in house prices brings average prices up by 10.0% in the year to May 2021. The North West saw the annual highest rises, at 15.2% in the year, while the lowest increase was in London at 5.2%.
Continuing strong demand and a decrease in new instructions are driving house prices higher.
The number of mortgage approvals in May 2021 was 87,500 from a peak of 103,400 in November 2020.
UK average house price = £260,358, -0.5% in the month, 2.9% up in the quarter, 8.8% in the year. Monthly index (where January 1992 = 100) 449.0
June asking prices fell for the first time since January 2021, although average house asking prices are £21,000 more than this time last year.
Changes to the stamp duty holiday mean purchasers pay around £500 in stamp duty at the moment. This will increase to around £3,000 at the start of October, so the withdrawal of the stamp duty holiday is unlikely to adversely affect current home buying decisions to a great extent.
Detached houses have risen in average price to a greater degree than any other home type, and are now £200,000 more expensive than the average semi-detached property.
National average house asking price = £338,447, up 0.7% in the month and 5.7% in the year.
Rightmove estimates a shortfall of 225,000 properties for sale to correct the imbalance in properties for sale against current demand.
Three and four bed properties have risen most in asking price, at 39% and 28% respectively, meaning first time buyers seeking one or two bed properties are faced with slightly lower increases in asking price, albeit an increase of 26%.
UK average house price = £245,432, 0.7% change in the month and 13.4% increase in the year.
Annual house price growth is now at the highest since November 2004, at 13.4%.
Mortgage payments are still ‘affordable’ compared to take home pay due to all-time low mortgage rates, and in line with historical averages. However, it does affect first time buyers who find it difficult to find the necessary deposit. The average 10% deposit is half of a first time buyer’s income and it would take five years saving 15% of take home pay to save this amount.
Average England and Wales house price = £336,247, 0.8% change in the month, 10.7% in the year.
House sold prices in England and Wales have increased an average £32,500 over the last twelve months. Taking London out of this, the figure rises from 10.7% to 14%. Including London, this is the highest annual rate of house price increase since February 2005.
UK Property Transaction Statistics
The number of residential property transactions over £40,000 was on average between the nations 219.1% higher than a year ago, at 198,240.
REGIONAL HOUSE PRICES
UK HPI Regional figures
(all percentages are positive unless indicated otherwise)
| May 2021 | Average Price | % Monthly change | % Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £271,434 | 0.4% | 9.7% |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 1 – 2021) | £149,178 | 1.1% | 6.0% |
| Scotland | £171,448 | 5.4% | 12.1% |
| Wales | £184,297 | 0.8% | 13.3% |
| East Midlands | £216,077 | -0.2% | 11.3% |
| East of England | £310,200 | -1.0% | 6.9% |
| London | £497,948 | -0.7% | 5.2% |
| North East | £143,129 | 1.4% | 11.8% |
| North West | £189,245 | 1.4% | 15.2% |
| South East | £350,016 | 1.4% | 9.1% |
| South West | £277,603 | -0.6% | 8.4% |
| West Midlands | £219,793 | 0.8% | 9.8% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £181,856 | 0.8% | 10.2% |
UK HPI Average monthly price by property type
| Property type | May 2021 | May 2020 | Difference |
| Detached | £391,656 | £351,885 | 11.3% |
| Semi-detached | £242,634 | £221,064 | 9.8% |
| Terraced | £208,810 | £187,513 | 11.4% |
| Flat or maisonette | £215,731 | £202,515 | 6.5% |
| All | £254,624 | £231,508 | 10.0% |
Rightmove regional figures
| July 2021 | Average price GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| London | £45,268 | -0.8% | 0.5% |
| South East | £450,644 | 1.4% | 7.6% |
| South West | £349,089 | 0.1% | 9.0% |
| East of England | £392,889 | 0.6% | 8.2% |
| West Midlands | £259,337 | 1.5% | 8.1% |
| East Midlands | £258,697 | 1.7% | 8.5% |
| North West | £225,261 | 0.6% | 8.1% |
| Wales | £230,759 | 1.0% | 11.5% |
| Yorkshire & Humberside | £217,344 | -0.4% | 6.5% |
| North East | £166,723 | 1.1% | 6.1% |
Nationwide regional figures
| Q1: 3 months to April 2021 | Average House Price (£) GBP | Annual % change (this quarter) | Annual % change (previous quarter) |
| N Ireland | £ | % | 5.9% |
| North West | £ | % | 8.0% |
| East Midlands | £200,307 | 6.0% | 8.6% |
| West Midlands | £208,806 | 7.6% | 7.5% |
| Scotland | £159,221 | 6.9% | 3.2% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £175,577 | 7.0% | 7.7% |
| East Anglia | £242,789 | 6.1% | 6.4% |
| Wales | £174,777 | 7.2% | 6.6% |
| North | £138,348 | 7.2% | 6.5% |
| South West | £263,033 | 7.2% | 6.6% |
| Outer South East | £298,804 | 7.2% | 8.0% |
| Outer Met | £379,058 | 5.6% | 5.6% |
| London | £482,576 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
| UK | £231,644 | 6.3% | 6.4% |
LSL Acadata Regional Data
| June 2021 | Average House Price £ GBP | Monthly % change | Annual % Change Greater |
| Greater London | £635,278 | -0.6% | 1.2% |
| South East | £421,691 | -0.8% | 8.6% |
| South West | £337,551 | -0.6% | 14.2% |
| East of England | £368,609 | -0.5% | 10.0% |
| West Midlands | £263,875 | -0.4% | 14.3% |
| East Midlands | £255,136 | -0.5% | 13.5% |
| North West | £233,339 | -1.1% | 17.3% |
| Wales | £215,681 | -0.1% | 13.7% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £226,181 | -0.6% | 15.5% |
| North East | £185,219 | -1.6% | 12.9% |
Focus on London
Best and Worst (-) annual performers according to:
| Rightmove July 2021 |
Average Price (£) GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| Kingston upon Thames | £659,999 | -0.6% | 9.7% |
| Barking and Dagenham | £342,870 | 0.6% | 7.3% |
| Camden | £983,370 | 1.1% | -3.9% |
| Islington | £741,972 | 1.0% | -5.0% |
| LCL Acadata May 2021 |
Average Price (£) GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| Redbridge | £522,824 | -4.3% | 20.3% |
| Harrow | £540,071 | 0.0% | 13.0% |
| Hammersmith & Fulham | £850,552 | -2.1% | -13.4% |
| Westminster | £1,431,271 | 5.0% | -24.9% |
RICS Survey Overview
The RICS Residential Market Survey for June 2021 reported a fall in new instructions for the third consecutive month. There are signs that demand and sales are slightly more modest than previous months although house price inflation shows no sign of easing nationally.
Lack of supply is the most frequent response from contributors to the survey as the reason for strong house price growth. Just over half also believe that increases will continue over the next twelve months, although London may be less strong than other regions.
Tenant demand is accelerating and new landlord instructions are still low. As a result, rental growth of 3% is predicted over the next twelve months regionally and in London where rents have lagged behind may become stronger.
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