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 new House Price Index, published today (13 June 2017) on the GOV.UK website.
Back to table of contents2. 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. From today (13 June 2017) we’ll be extending our revision period to 12 months. Further information is provided in our revisions policy.
The UK HPI has been published initially as an experimental official statistic to allow for users to acclimatise to the format of the new HPI, to evaluate user reaction to the new data, to continue evolution of data publication to meet user requirements and to further develop the data sources used in the production. Further information on the process we’re following to remove the Experimental Statistics status can be found in About the UK House Price Index.
Back to table of contents3. UK all dwellings
Average house prices in the UK have increased by 5.6% in the year to April 2017 (up from 4.5% in the year to March 2017). While up against March 2017, there has been a general slowdown in the annual growth rate since mid-2016.
Figure 1: Annual house price rates of change, UK all dwellings from January 2006 to April 2017
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 April 2017
Image .csv .xlsThe average UK house price was £220,000 in April 2017. This is £12,000 higher than in April 2016 and £3,000 higher than last month.
Figure 2: Average UK house price, January 2005 to April 2017
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 April 2017
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 5.7% over the year to April 2017, with the average price in England now £237,000. Wales saw house prices increase by 4.2% over the last 12 months to stand at £148,000. In Scotland, the average price increased by 6.8% over the year to stand at £146,000. The average price in Northern Ireland currently stands at £124,000, an increase of 4.3% over the year to Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2017.
Figure 3: Average house price, by UK country, January 2005 to April 2017
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 3: Average house price, by UK country, January 2005 to April 2017
Image .csv .xls5. House price index, by English region
On a regional basis, London continues to be the region with the highest average house price at £483,000, followed by the South East and the East of England, which stand at £315,000 and £281,000 respectively. The lowest average price continues to be in the North East at £123,000.
Figure 4: Average house price, by English region, January 2004 to April 2017
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 April 2017
Image .csv .xlsThe East of England showed the highest annual growth, with prices increasing by 8.1% in the year to April 2017. This was followed by the South West at 6.8%. The lowest annual growth was in the North East, where prices increased by 0.6% over the year, followed by the North West at 4.1%.
Figure 5: All dwellings annual house price rates of change, year to April 2017: 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 April 2017: by English region
Image .csv .xls7. Quality and methodology
Details of the methodology used to calculate the UK House Price Index (HPI) can be found in the article Development of a single Official House Price Index.
Further information on how the new 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.
The UK House Price Index (HPI) Quality and Methodology Information document contains important information on:
the strengths and limitations of the data
uses and users of the data
how the output was created
the quality of the output including the accuracy of the data