1. Introduction
This is a high-level summary of the UK House Price Index (HPI). For full details, including commentary, historical data tables and analytical tools, please see the main publication of the House Price Index, published today (18 April 2018) by HM Land Registry on the GOV.UK website.
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys2. Things you need to know about this release
The UK House Price Index (HPI) is a joint production by HM Land Registry, Land and Property Services Northern Ireland, Office for National Statistics and Registers of Scotland.
The UK HPI, introduced in June 2016, includes all residential properties purchased for market value in the UK. However, as sales only appear in the UK HPI once the purchases have been registered, there can be a delay before transactions feed into the index. As such, caution is advised when interpreting prices changes in the most recent periods as they are liable to be revised. Since 13 June 2017, we have extended our revision period to 12 months. Further information is provided in our revision policy.
In December 2017, amendments were made to our estimation model when calculating our provisional estimate. This improvement was implemented on 12 December 2017. Further information and the impact of this change can be found on the HM Land Registry pages of GOV.UK.
The UK HPI is an official statistic. We continue to progress with the assessment of the UK House Price Index as a National Statistic.
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys3. UK all dwellings
Average house prices in the UK have increased by 4.4% in the year to February 2018 (down from 4.7% in January 2018). The annual growth rate has slowed since mid-2016 but has remained generally under 5% throughout 2017 and into 2018. Average house prices in the UK decreased by 0.1% on the month.
This fall in UK house price growth is driven mainly by a fall in London. Average house prices in London decreased by 1.0% in the year to February 2018 (down from a 1.3% increase in January 2018), which continues the London slowdown since mid-2016.
Figure 1: Annual house price rates of change, UK all dwellings from January 2006 to February 2018
Source: HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, Land and Property Services Northern Ireland and Office for National Statistics
Notes:
Not seasonally adjusted.
The full HPI release is available to download from HM Land Registry at GOV.UK.
Download this chart Figure 1: Annual house price rates of change, UK all dwellings from January 2006 to February 2018
Image .csv .xlsThe average UK house price was £225,000 in February 2018. This is £9,000 higher than in February 2017 and broadly unchanged from last month.
Figure 2: Average UK house price, January 2005 to February 2018
Source: HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, Land and Property Services Northern Ireland and Office for National Statistics
Notes:
Not seasonally adjusted.
The full HPI release is available to download from HM Land Registry at GOV.UK.
Download this chart Figure 2: Average UK house price, January 2005 to February 2018
Image .csv .xls4. House Price Index, by UK country
The main contribution to the increase in UK house prices came from England, where house prices increased by 4.1% over the year to February 2018, with the average price in England now £242,000. Wales saw house prices increase by 4.8% over the last 12 months to stand at £153,000. In Scotland, the average price increased by 6.2% over the year to stand at £144,000. The average price in Northern Ireland currently stands at £130,000, an increase of 4.3% over the year to Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2017.
Figure 3: Average house price, by UK country, January 2005 to February 2018
Source: HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, Land and Property Services Northern Ireland and Office for National Statistics
Notes:
- Not seasonally adjusted.
- The full HPI release is available to download from HM Land Registry at GOV.UK.
- Northern Ireland data is only available on a quarterly basis. Northern Ireland data is copied forward until the next quarters data is available.
Download this chart Figure 3: Average house price, by UK country, January 2005 to February 2018
Image .csv .xls5. House Price Index, by English region
On a regional basis, London continued to be the region with the highest average house price at £472,000, followed by the South East and the East of England, which stood at £322,000 and £288,000 respectively. The lowest average price continued to be in the North East at £128,000.
Figure 4: Average house price, by English region, January 2004 to February 2018
Source: HM Land Registry and Office for National Statistics
Notes:
Not seasonally adjusted.
The full HPI release is available to download from HM Land Registry at GOV.UK.
Download this chart Figure 4: Average house price, by English region, January 2004 to February 2018
Image .csv .xlsThe West Midlands showed the highest annual growth, with prices increasing by 7.3% in the year to February 2018. This was followed by the East Midlands (6.3%).
The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices decreased by 1.0% over the year. This is the lowest annual growth in London since September 2009, when it was negative 3.2%. London has shown a general slowdown in its annual growth rate since mid-2016. The second-lowest annual growth was in Yorkshire and The Humber, where prices increased by 3.1% in the year to February 2018.
Figure 5: All dwellings annual house price rates of change, year to February 2018: by English region
Source: HM Land Registry and Office for National Statistics
Notes:
Not seasonally adjusted.
The full HPI release is available to download from HM Land Registry at GOV.UK.
Download this chart Figure 5: All dwellings annual house price rates of change, year to February 2018: by English region
Image .csv .xlsData at the local authority level and other breakdowns can be found in the main publication of the UK House Price Index published by HM Land Registry on GOV.UK.
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys6. Quality and methodology
Details of the methodology used to calculate the UK House Price Index (UK HPI) can be found on the guidance page of the main release published by HM Land Registry on GOV.UK.
Further information on how the UK HPI compares with the previous Office for National Statistics and HM Land Registry House Price Indices can be found in the article Explaining the impact of the new UK House Price Index.
Details on the data sources used to calculate the UK House Price Index can be found in About the UK House Price Index.
The UK House Price Index (HPI) Quality and Methodology report contains important information on:
the strengths and limitations of the data and how it compares with related data
uses and users of the data
how the output was created
the quality of the output including the accuracy of the data