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 = £283,000, 0.7% change in the month, 1.8% in the year. Monthly index (where January 2015 = 100) 148.3
The average asking price for a UK home is £5,000 more than a year ago. Twelve month house price inflation was highest in March in Yorkshire and the Humber at 5%, and lowest in London at -3.4%.
UK average house price = £288,949, 0.1% in the month, 0.8% in the quarter, 0.8% in the year. Monthly index (where January 1992 = 100) 492.9
The housing market is stabilising after a period of increasing borrowing costs but there are signs of more confidence amongst home buyers. Buyers are “adjusting their expectations”, and first time buyers in particular are looking to buy cheaper properties. As such, flats have risen in price. The number of mortgage applications is at the highest level in 18 months.
Affordability remains an issue, but fixed rate mortgage rates are expected to fall later in the year.
National average house asking price = £375,131, 0.8% in the month and 0.6% in the year.
The housing market remains sensitive and “top of the ladder” properties are seeing the highest price growth. The number of house sales has increased 17% for the first four months from last year, while only 12% of new sellers have come onto the market.
The average legal completion is 154 days after agreed sale, and it takes an average 62 days to find a buyer, showing that anyone looking to move before Christmas would need to start selling now.
The key to selling is, as always, price – those properties that require a price reduction are taking three times longer to sell.
UK average house price = £261,962, -0.4% change in the month and 0.6% in the year.
A survey has shown that half of first time buyers have put off plans to buy over the last year. Most have done so because of high house prices (53%) while 41% said higher mortgage costs prevented them from entering the property market. In total, 84% of first time buyers said that their plans to buy had been affected by the cost of living, often due to having to reduce the amount they can save each month towards a deposit. More than half of those surveyed said they would relocate to a home over 30 miles away in order to buy a cheaper or bigger property.
Average England and Wales house price = £359,154, 0.0% change in the month, -2.9% in the year.
Increased competition from mortgage lenders has improved mortgage availability, but delays to the expected base rate reduction has affected the confidence of home buyers. Economic and political uncertainty may have an effect on house price growth.
REGIONAL HOUSE PRICES
(all percentages are positive unless indicated otherwise)
UK HPI Regional figures
| March 2024 | Average Price | % Monthly change | % Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £299,321 | 0.5% | 1.0% |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 1 – 2024) | £178,499 | 0.4% | 4.0% |
| Scotland | £191,678 | 2.3% | 6.7% |
| Wales | £213,753 | 0.9% | 1.3% |
| East Midlands | £242,223 | 0.3% | 1.0% |
| East of England | £341,979 | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| London | £499,663 | -0.9% | -3.4% |
| North East | £148,569 | -0.4% | 3.2% |
| North West | £216,501 | 1.1% | 3.8% |
| South East | £373,223 | 0.3% | -1.3% |
| South West | £316,262 | 0.2% | 0.5% |
| West Midlands Region | £246,298 | 1.4% | 2.4% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £209,868 | 2.2% | 5.0% |
UK HPI Average monthly price by property type
| Property type | March 2024 | March 2023 | Difference |
| Detached | £440,085 | £429,319 | 2.5% |
| Semi-detached | £275,684 | £269,632 | 2.2% |
| Terraced | £230,406 | £227,464 | 1.3% |
| Flat or maisonette | £229,813 | £227,628 | 1.0% |
| All | £282,776 | £277,855 | 1.8% |
Rightmove regional figures
| May 2024 | Average price GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| London | £697,193 | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| South East | £494,300 | 1.4% | -0.1% |
| South West | £394,549 | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| East of England | £422,364 | 0.6% | -0.6% |
| West Midlands | £295,507 | 1.2% | 2.3% |
| East Midlands | £288,394 | 0.5% | 0.0% |
| North West | £259,898 | 0.1% | 1.5% |
| Wales | £265,271 | 0.8% | 2.2% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £254,044 | 0.9% | 2.3% |
| North East | £190,158 | 0.1% | 5.8% |
LSL Acadata Regional Data
| March 2024 | Average House Price £ GBP | Monthly % change | Annual % Change Greater |
| Greater London | £674,034 | -2.0% | -4.0% |
| South East | £448,089 | -0.6% | -6.6% |
| South West | £365,523 | -0.3% | -3.1% |
| East of England | £388,048 | -1.2% | -5.8% |
| West Midlands | £284,229 | -0.5% | -1.2% |
| East Midlands | £274,092 | -0.6% | -2.6% |
| North West | £249,941 | -0.2% | -0.1% |
| Wales | £239,026 | 0.7% | -2.4% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £241,148 | -0.6% | -1.4% |
| North East | £198,485 | 1.0% | -0.8% |
Focus on London
Best and Worst annual performers according to:
| Rightmove May 2024 |
Average Price (£) GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | £1,029,747 | 0.1% | 6.6% |
| Camden | £1,108,224 | 1.4% | 6.5% |
| Wandsworth | £851,560 | 0.3% | -1.6% |
| Hackney | £699,964 | -0.9% | -3.3% |
| LCL Acadata March 2024 |
Average Price (£) GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| Ealing | £704,488 | 2.2% | 9.3% |
| Greenwich | £527,783 | -2.0% | 7.1% |
| Hounslow | £527,030 | -6.0% | -22.4% |
| Camden | £919,796 | -7.9% | -22.9% |
RICS Survey Overview
The RICS Residential Market Survey for April 2024 showed flat buyer demand and stable house price nationally, although the market has been affected by mortgage rate increases.
Agreed sales are at their most positive since early 2021. Expectations are that sales will dip in the coming quarter but an improved trend is expected over twelve months.
More houses are coming onto the market and respondents estimate available properties to be at the highest since late 2020.
Only 12% of survey respondents reported an increase in tenant demand, compared to the 28% reported previously – the least positive number since April 2020.
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