1. Main findings
In 2014, the local authority with the largest median house price was Kensington and Chelsea at £1,195,000
In 2014, the local authority with the smallest median house price was Blaenau Gwent at £75,000
The local authority that had the largest increase in median house price between 2013 and 2014 is South Bucks increasing by 23% from £390,000 to £480,000
The local authority that had the largest decrease in median house price between 2013 and 2014 is Isles of Scilly decreasing by 15% from £275,000 to £235,000
2. Introduction
House price statistics for small areas (HPSSAs) report statistics on median house prices covering all dwelling types along with separate median house price statistics for different dwelling types covering detached, semi-detached, and terraced houses, flats and maisonettes. For the reported median house prices, associated counts of property sales are also published. These house price statistics are calculated using publicly available data from the Land Registry.
These house price statistics provide an accurate representation of the price paid for residential properties sold in a given area. They are useful for assessing the affordability of housing in small areas as well as broad patterns in prices and the number of house sales over time. They provide a level of spatial detail not currently available in the ONS House Price Index (HPI) which reports house prices at regional and national level. The HPI provides a more appropriate measure for residential property values at national and regional level as it is adjusted to account for differences, for example, in the types of houses sold and numbers of bedrooms etc.
HPSSAs are not mix adjusted. Variations in the composition of dwelling types and housing quality can influence median house prices, however these variations help inform understanding of spatial differences in median house prices and affordability.
Why is it important to look at the number of sales for different dwelling types?
The number and proportion of sales of different types of dwelling can change over time within and between areas. For example, in one year an area’s total house sales might comprise 70% detached houses and the following year it might only comprise 40% detached houses. Knowing this composition of sales can give further meaning to median house price changes and help to understand fluctuations over time and between areas. Median house prices may change because of this compositional variation and can also change because of fluctuations in property values.
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys4. House prices for parliamentary constituencies
The house price statistics for small areas (13 Mb Excel sheet) have also been produced for the 573 parliamentary constituencies in England and Wales, which may help inform policy and debate. Parliamentary constituencies provide data at a level generally smaller than local authorities but larger than MSOAs. This can allow observations of patterns that may not be apparent otherwise.
House prices at this level range greatly, with Kensington having the highest median house price of £1,150,000 in contrast to Rhondda at £59,975, which has the lowest.
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys5. House Prices for Middle Layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs)
House Prices for Middle Layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs)
MSOAs are areas created by grouping lower layer super output areas or LSOAs (groups of output areas, the smallest statistical area) in order to produce roughly similar areas in terms of population for the reporting of statistics. An MSOA contains a minimum of 5,000 residents and 3,000 households with an average population size of 7,500. There are 7,201 MSOAs in England and Wales. For a more detailed explanation of MSOAs and other statistical geographies visit the ONS guidance page on output areas.
MSOAs are useful in providing a more detailed local picture of house prices and how they vary within a given local authority or area. This can be helpful in assessing the affordability of homes for small areas where more general local authority statistics would not provide adequate resolution. Due to the relatively small number of sales it is not possible to produce robust median house prices using the HPSSAs methodology for any smaller geography than MSOAs. This means that MSOA is the smallest geographic level for which HPSSAs are published.
Highest and lowest median house prices for all dwelling types by MSOA
In 2014, the MSOA with the highest median house price was Westminster 019, with a median house price of £3,400,000. This is nearly 100 times more expensive than the least expensive MSOA, Middlesbrough 002, where the median house price was £39,000. This was in stark contrast with data from 1995, the start of the time series, when house prices in the MSOA Westminster 019 were the most expensive, with a median of £327,000. This was over 24 times as expensive as Sheffield 073, the MSOA with the least expensive median house price at £13,500.
Distribution of house prices in England and Wales by MSOA
Of all the MSOAs in England and Wales, in 2014 only 275 (4%) had a median house price for all dwelling types greater than £500,000 (Figure 3). There were 5,371 MSOAs (75%) with a median house price of £250,000 or below and 761 MSOAs (11%) where median prices were £100,000 or below. The following distribution chart illustrates the range of median house prices and shows how areas with the highest median house prices comprise a relatively small proportion of MSOAs.