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 = £264,244, 10.6% change in the month, 2.9% up in the year. Monthly index (where January 2015 = 100) 138.6
As last month, house prices in the North East of England led the way, with 13.3% growth in the twelve months to August 2021. London was the lowest, at 7.5% over the same period.
The number of property transactions in July valued at or over £40,000 was 20.9% higher than a year ago at 98,300.
UK average house price = £267,587, 1.7% in the month, 1.5% up in the quarter, 7.4% in the year. Monthly index (where January 1992 = 100) 461.4
The average UK home increased by £4,400 in September, more than any month since February 2007, and now stands at a little over £267,500.
A softening in demand is expected due to changes in taxes and the cost of living and there are already some signs that buyer activity is reducing. The limited supply of property is continuing to underpin house prices.
National average house asking price = £344,445, 1.8% in the month and 6.5% in the year.
The national average house price increased by £5,983 this month, the highest since October 2015. Rightmove recorded new record price highs in every market sectors and UK region this month – the first time this has happened since its records began.
UK average house price = £248,742, 0.1% change in the month and 10.0% increase in the year.
The month on month increase in house prices changed little from August to September. Wales was the strongest performing region and London was the weakest.
Affordability is becoming more stretched and a typical first time buyer needing a 20% deposit now needs to find a record 113% of their gross income. Low interest rates mean this is still low in terms of affordability, but this is changing. In ten of the 13 UK regions, the typical mortgage payment is above long term average in relation to take home pay. Before the pandemic, this was only the case in London.
Average England and Wales house price = £328,610, 1.2% change in the month, 3.6% in the year.
Wales saw the highest annual house price growth, at 11.2%, thought in part to be a result of lower tax incentives than England during the Land Transaction Tax/Stamp Duty holidays, which differed.
The price of flats has started to recover, particularly in Central London and Hammersmith & Fulham, where the largest gains have been made.
The current market momentum is expected to continue, at least in the short-term if not for longer.
UK Property Transaction Statistics
The number of residential property transactions over £40,000 was 165,720 in September 2021.
REGIONAL HOUSE PRICES
(all percentages are positive unless indicated otherwise)
UK HPI Regional figures
| August 2021 | Average Price | % Monthly change | % Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £280,921 | 3.2% | 9.8% |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 2 – 2021) | £153,449 | 2.9% | 9.0% |
| Scotland | £180,832 | 1.7% | 16.9% |
| Wales | £194,575 | 2.8% | 12.5% |
| East Midlands | £221,693 | 2.7% | 10.3% |
| East of England | £324,510 | 2.9% | 9.6% |
| London | £525,893 | 5.6% | 7.5% |
| North East | £149,042 | 2.4% | 13.3% |
| North West | £149,821 | 4.5% | 12.4% |
| South East | £358,070 | 1.9% | 8.7% |
| South West | £288,658 | 4.2% | 8.9% |
| West Midlands | £228,593 | 2.9% | 11.0% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £185,968 | 1.5% | 8.8% |
UK HPI Average monthly price by property type
| Property type | August 2021 | August 2020 | Difference |
| Detached | £411,649 | £364,047 | 13.1% |
| Semi-detached | £254,115 | £228,834 | 11.0% |
| Terraced | £214,083 | £194,722 | 9.9% |
| Flat or maisonette | £220,756 | £205,788 | 7.3% |
| All | £264,244 | £238,998 | 10.6% |
Halifax regional figures
| Region (Quarter 3 2021) | Average Price | Annual % change (this quarter) |
Annual % change (last quarter) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | £190,700 | 15.3% | 13.4% |
| N Ireland | £167,103 | 14.3% | 14.0% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £188,457 | 12.3% | 13.0% |
| Scotland | £171,134 | 11.6% | 7.1% |
| North West | £191,326 | 11.4% | 10.9% |
| North | £147,358 | 10.9% | 11.2% |
| East Midlands | £215,284 | 10.5% | 12.2% |
| West Midlands | £220,558 | 9.9% | 12.2% |
| South West | £286,006 | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| Outer South East | £320,050 | 9.8% | 10.9% |
| East Anglia | £260,109 | 8.9% | 9.7% |
| Outer Met | £402,317 | 6.8% | 8.2% |
| London | £500,980 | 4.2% | 7.3% |
| UK | £247,535 | 10.3% | 10.3% |
Rightmove regional figures
| October 2021 | Average price GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| London | £650,683 | 1.9% | 2.6% |
| South East | £458,456 | 1.1% | 8.5% |
| South West | £359,906 | 1.9% | 9.8% |
| East of England | £396,232 | 0.1% | 7.1% |
| West Midlands | £263,008 | 0.9% | 7.5% |
| East Midlands | £267,095 | 1.0% | 8.6% |
| North West | £232,639 | 2.3% | 8.0% |
| Wales | £237,830 | 2.3% | 11.3% |
| Yorkshire & Humberside | £221,291 | 1.0% | 5.4% |
| North East | £167,935 | 1.4% | 4.8% |
LSL Acadata Regional Data
| August 2021 | Average House Price £ GBP | Monthly % change | Annual % Change Greater |
| Greater London | £635,497 | -0.3% | -0.4% |
| South East | £417,783 | -1.2% | 4.5% |
| South West | £320,841 | -2.6% | 3.8% |
| East of England | £361,965 | -1.7% | 4.5% |
| West Midlands | £251,374 | -2.5% | 4.8% |
| East Midlands | £242,174 | -2.4% | 5.2% |
| North West | £220,174 | -3.5% | 6.2% |
| Wales | £217,100 | -0.4% | 11.2% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £213,639 | -3.5% | 5.0% |
| North East | £176,161 | -3.5% | 3.2% |
Focus on London
Best and Worst (-) annual performers according to:
| Rightmove October 2021 |
Average Price (£) GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| Bexley | £454,774 | 1.0% | 5.9% |
| Barking & Dagenham | £349,645 | 0.9% | 5.8% |
| Camden | £952,470 | -0.8% | -3.7% |
| Islington | £735,525 | -0.5% | -5.6% |
| LCL Acadata August 2021 |
Average Price (£) GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| Merton | £761,155 | 0.6% | 19.3% |
| Redbridge | £529,354 | 0.4% | 13.5% |
| Lambeth | £602,505 | -0.6% | -15.3% |
| Westminster | £1,457,695 | 2.3% | -15.7% |
RICS Survey Overview
The RICS Residential Market Survey for September 2021 reported a softening in the housing market in terms of sales and instructions, although sales are likely to be steady as buyer demand stabilises.
House price growth across the UK has slowed down but remains stable.
Tenant demand for rental properties is rising, although the number of landlord instructions is negative. Strong demand from tenants and fewer available rental properties is likely to drive rents higher and are predicted to rise 3% over the next twelve months (2% in London).
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 is updated monthly on the day of publication.
SH/LCB