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 = £285,000, 1.2% change in the month, 2.2% in the year. Monthly index (where January 2015 = 100) 149.6
The average house price in May 2024 was £6,000 more than a year ago. Yorkshire and the Humer saw the highest annual house price inflation, at 3.9%.
HMRC’s UK Property Transactions Statistics showed the number of residential property transactions over £40,000 was 17.2% higher than in May 2023, at 91,000.
UK average house price = £288,455, -0.2% in the month, -0.5% in the quarter, 1.6% in the year. Monthly index (where January 1992 = 100) 497.4
House prices have been relatively flat for the last three months, falling over that time around £500 on average. This indicated a subdued housing market, although activity is recovering. A shortage of properties is more to blame than demand from buyers. However, mortgage affordability remains the biggest challenge, although the problem is likely to ease given time.
National average house asking price = £373,493, -0.4% in the month and 0.4% in the year.
Most house movers are continuing with their plans, although some are waiting for a reduction in the base rate. Sales agreed are 15% over the same period last year. New house sellers rose 3% over the last year while buyer demand dropped by -2%.
Rightmove expects the base rate to reduce in August or September. The current average five year fixed mortgage is 4.97%. In July 2021 the average was 2.51% – followed by 14 consecutive rate increases which brought it to 6.11% in July 2023.
UK average house price = £266,064, 0.2% change in the month and 1.5% in the year.
The housing market has been relatively flat over the year, with a -15% reduction in the number of transactions compared to 2019. Those involving a mortgage are down 25%. However, cash transactions have increased 5% over pre-pandemic numbers.
Average England and Wales house price = £360,175, 0.4% change in the month, -1.6% in the year.
The housing market is improving which is expected to continue. Discounting price decreases in London and the South East, house prices in the rest of England and Wales have remained stable over the year. The highest increases have been seen in the North East and Wales.
Further improvements are anticipated following the vote for a Labour government, which promised new towns, comprising Green Belt land, mandatory house building targets, a new Freedom to Buy scheme and lower Stamp Duty thresholds for first time buyers from April 2025.
REGIONAL HOUSE PRICES
(all percentages are positive unless indicated otherwise)
UK HPI Regional figures
| May 2024 | Average Price | % Monthly change | % Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £302,393 | 1.3% | 2.2% |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 1 – 2024) | £178,499 | 0.4% | 4.0% |
| Scotland | £191,435 | 0.3% | 2.5% |
| Wales | £216,002 | 2.5% | 2.4% |
| East Midlands | £245,574 | 1.0% | 3.2% |
| East of England | £337,757 | 0.6% | 1.9% |
| London | £523,376 | 3.9% | 0.2% |
| North East | £162,360 | 1.5% | 3.7% |
| North West | £217,525 | 0.9% | 2.9% |
| South East | £375,693 | 0.3% | 0.7% |
| South West | £318,223 | 0.6% | 2.3% |
| West Midlands Region | £250,787 | 2.3% | 3.0% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £209,055 | 1.9% | 3.9% |
UK HPI Average monthly price by property type
| Property type | May 2024 | May 2023 | Difference |
| Detached | £439,590 | £424,921 | 3.5% |
| Semi-detached | £278,793 | £268,326 | 3.9% |
| Terraced | £234,048 | £229,524 | 2.0% |
| Flat or maisonette | £231,025 | £233,199 | -0.9% |
| All | £285,201 | £278,941 | 2.2% |
Rightmove regional figures
| July 2024 | Average price GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| London | £692,544 | -0.4% | 0.6% |
| South East | £485,733 | -2.0% | -0.9% |
| South West | £392,961 | -0.5% | -1.0% |
| East of England | £424,262 | 1.0% | -0.4% |
| West Midlands | £293,846 | -0.6% | 1.6% |
| East Midlands | £290,501 | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| North West | £264,256 | 0.8% | 3.5% |
| Wales | £265,679 | -0.1% | 1.9% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £252,153 | -0.7% | 1.4% |
| North East | £193,043 | 0.5% | 4.6% |
LSL Acadata Regional Data
| May 2024 | Average House Price £ GBP | Monthly % change | Annual % Change Greater |
| Greater London | £698,138 | -0.1% | -3.7% |
| South East | £473,508 | 0.6% | -4.7% |
| South West | £371,822 | 0.9% | -0.9% |
| East of England | £405,167 | 0.5% | -3.0% |
| West Midlands | £285,822 | 0.0% | -0.9% |
| East Midlands | £276,882 | -0.2% | -2.6% |
| North West | £246,922 | -0.2% | -0.2% |
| Wales | £236,617 | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £241,204 | 0.0% | -1.5% |
| North East | £193,401 | -0.6% | 0.0% |
Focus on London
Best and Worst annual performers according to:
| Rightmove July 2024 |
Average Price (£) GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| Newham | £491,084 | 1.5% | 5.6% |
| Camden | £1,112,497 | -0.7% | 5.4% |
| Brent | £630,569 | -0.1% | -2.7% |
| Tower Hamlets | £594,488 | -0.2% | -3.5% |
RICS Survey Overview
The RICS Residential Market Survey for May 2024 reported a modest decline in house buyer demand. At a regional level, the greatest decline in buyer enquiries was in the South East and South West of England, while there has been an increase in the flow of new listings.
Tenant demand has increased while new landlord instructions have declined., with an expectation that rental prices will rise over 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 is updated monthly on the day of publication.
SH/LCB