In 2022, house price growth in the UK slowed, after a period of decade-long increase. Nevertheless, in August 2024, prices reached a new peak, with the average home costing close to 290,000 British pounds. That figure refers to all property types, including detached, semi-detached, terraced houses, and flats and maisonettes. Compared to other European countries, the UK had some of the highest house prices. How have UK house prices increased over the last 10 years? Property prices have risen dramatically over the past decade. According to the UK house price index, the average house price has grown by over 50 percent since 2015. This price development has led to the gap between the cost of buying and renting a property to close. In 2023, buying a three-bedroom house in the UK was no longer more affordable than renting one. Consequently, Brits have become more likely to rent longer and push off making a house purchase until they have saved up enough for a down payment and achieved the financial stability required to make the step. What caused the decline in house prices in 2022? House prices are affected by multiple factors, such as mortgage rates, supply, and demand on the market. For nearly a decade, the UK experienced uninterrupted house price growth as a result of strong demand and a chronic undersupply. Homebuyers who purchased a property at the peak of the housing boom in July 2022 paid 14 percent more compared to what they would have paid a year before. Additionally, 2022 saw the most dramatic increase in mortgage rates in recent history. Between December 2021 and December 2022, the 10-year fixed mortgage rate doubled, adding further strain to prospective homebuyers. As a result, the market cooled, leading to a correction in pricing.

London was the most expensive city to buy an apartment in, with an average value of 13,335 euros per square meter in the first quarter of 2024. The price of an apartment in Leeds was significantly lower at approximately 4,210 euros per square meter.

The average agreed rent for new tenancies in the UK ranged from 665 British pounds to 2,100 British pounds, depending on the region. On average, renters outside of London paid 1,095 British pounds, whereas in London, this figure amounted to 2,025 British pounds. Rents have been on the rise for many years, but the period after the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend. Since 2015, the average rent in the UK increased by about 25 percent, with about half of that gain achieved in the period after the pandemic. Why have UK rents increased so much? One of the main reasons driving up rental prices is the declining affordability of homeownership. Historically, house prices grew faster than rents, making renting more financially feasible than buying. In 2022, when the house price to rent ratio index peaked, house prices had outgrown rents by nearly 30 percent since 2015. As house prices peaked in 2022, home buying slowed, exacerbating demand for rental properties and leading to soaring rental prices. How expensive is too expensive? Although there is no official requirement about the proportion of income spent on rent for it to be considered affordable, a popular rule is that rent should not exceed more than 30 percent of income. In 2024, most renters in the UK exceeded that threshold, with the southern regions significantly more likely to spend upward of 30 percent of their income on rent. Rental affordability has sparked a move away from the capital to other regions in the UK, such as the South East (Brighton and Southampton), the West Midlands (Birmingham) and the North West (Liverpool, Manchester, Blackpool and Preston).

Median price paid for residential property in England and Wales, by property type and administrative geographies. Quarterly rolling annual data. Formerly HPSSA dataset 9

Average house prices are affected by several factors: Economic growth, unemployment, interest rates and mortgage availability can all affect average prices. A shortage of supply means that the need for housing and, therefore, competitive market created will push up house prices, whereas an excess of housing means prices fall to stimulate buyers. Location, location, location In December 2023, the average house price in England was more expensive than in any other country. This huge disparity in average house prices is in no small part down to the country's capital city, where the average asking price was more than double that of the UK’s average. Even in London, for those who can afford a mortgage, the savings made through buying over renting can be beneficial. House prices still set to grow In 2024, the number of housing transactions in the UK is set to fall to 1.1 million. With the expected decline in transactions, the average house price is also set to stagnate across the UK.

Average House Prices in the United Kingdom decreased to 298602 GBP in February from 298815 GBP in January of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United Kingdom Average House Prices.

Quarterly house price data based on a sub-sample of the Regulated Mortgage Survey.

Mean price paid for residential property in England and Wales, by property type and electoral ward. Annual data.

Renting an apartment in Cambridge cost on average more than 1,500 British pounds per month in December 2023, making it the most expensive cities for renters in the UK after London. In London, the average rent ranged between 1,400 British pounds and 3,700 British pounds depending on the location. On the other hand, Northern Ireland, Wales, and North East were the regions with the most affordable rents.

Median price paid for residential property in England and Wales, by property type and Middle layer Super Output Area (MSOA). Quarterly rolling annual data. Formerly HPSSA dataset 2.

This page is no longer being updated. Please use the UK House Price Index instead.

Mix-adjusted house prices, by new/pre-owned dwellings, type of buyer (first time buyer) and region, from February 2002 for London and UK, and average mix-adjusted prices by UK region, and long term Annual House Price Index data since 1969 for London.

The ONS House Price Index is mix-adjusted to allow for differences between houses sold (for example type, number of rooms, location) in different months within a year. House prices are modelled using a combination of characteristics to produce a model containing around 100,000 cells (one such cell could be first-time buyer, old dwelling, one bedroom flat purchased in London). Each month estimated prices for all cells are produced by the model and then combined with their appropriate weight to produce mix-adjusted average prices. The index values are based on growth rates in the mix-adjusted average house prices and are annually chain linked.

The weights used for mix-adjustment change at the start of each calendar year (i.e. in January). The mix-adjusted prices are therefore not comparable between calendar years, although they are comparable within each calendar year. If you wish to calculate change between years, you should use the mix-adjusted house price index, available in Table 33.

The data published in these tables are based on a sub-sample of RMS data. These results will therefore differ from results produced using full sample data. For further information please contact the ONS using the contact details below.
House prices, mortgage advances and incomes have been rounded to the nearest £1,000.
Data taken from Table 2 and Table 9 of the monthly ONS release.

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The borough with the highest property prices in London, Kensington and Chelsea, had an average price for a flat that was about 600,000 British pounds higher than the London average. London is the most populous metropolitan area in the UK, and living in it comes with a price tag. Unsurprisingly, the most expensive boroughs in terms of real estate prices are located in the heart of the metropolis: Kensington and Chelsea, the City of Westminster, and the City of London. In Kensington and Chelsea, home to several museums such as the Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Science Museum, as well as galleries and theaters, the average price of apartments was over million British pounds. How have residential property prices developed in recent years? The average house price in England declined slightly in 2023 after increasing year-on-year since 2008. The housing market in Wales also experienced a mild correction, but prices in Scotland and Northern Ireland continued to grow. Since 2015, the base year of the UK House Price Index, house prices in London have risen by over 30 percent. In London, the cost of a flat decreased by 0.3 percent year-on-year as of June 2024. However, some of the most expensive boroughs recorded a decline of over 10 percent. Are residential property prices in London expected to grow in the future? Despite property prices declining in 2023, the market is forecast to continue to grow in the next five years, according to a March 2023 forecast. Some of the reasons for this are the robust demand for housing, the chronic shortage of residential properties and the anticipated decline in mortgage interest rates.

Mix-adjusted house prices, by new/pre-owned dwellings, type of buyer (first time buyer) and region, from February 2002 for London and UK, and average mix-adjusted prices by UK region.

The data published in these tables are based on a sub-sample of RMS data. These results will therefore differ from results produced using full sample data. For further information please contact the ONS using the contact details below.
House prices, mortgage advances and incomes have been rounded to the nearest £1,000.
Data taken from Table 2 and Table 9 of the monthly ONS release.
The weights used for mix-adjustment change at the start of each calendar year (i.e. in January). The mix-adjusted prices are therefore not comparable between calendar years, although they are comparable within each calendar year. If you wish to calculate change between years, you should use the mix-adjusted house price index, available in Table 33.

Download from ONS website

Since 2015, the gap between the cost of buying a home and renting has grown, with homeownership becoming increasingly less affordable. In the third quarter of 2024, the house price to rent ratio in the UK stood at 114.6. That meant that house price growth has outpaced rental growth by nearly 15 percent between 2015 and 2024. The UK's house price to rent ratio was slightly below the average Euro area ratio. House price to income ratio in the UK Another indicator for housing affordability is the house price to income ratio, which is calculated by dividing nominal house prices by the nominal disposable income per head. The ratio saw an overall increase between 2015, which was tthe base year, and 2022. After that, the index declined, but remained close to the average for the Euro area. Is it more affordable to rent or buy? There are many things to be considered when comparing buying to renting, such as the ability to qualify for a mortgage and whether prospective homebuyers have sufficient savings for a deposit. Generally, purchasing a home is more affordable than renting one. However, the average monthly savings first-time buyers can achieve have been on the decline. In East of England, where house prices have increased rapidly over the past few years, it was cheaper to rent than to buy in 2022.

Key information about House Prices Growth

• UK house prices grew 3.8% YoY in Feb 2025, following an increase of 4.0% YoY in the previous month.
• YoY growth data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1992 to Feb 2025, with an average growth rate of 4.3%.
• House price data reached an all-time high of 26.4% in Jan 2003 and a record low of -17.5% in Feb 2009.

In 2023, detached houses were the most expensive type of dwelling in the United Kingdom at an average price of 496,000 British pounds. Flats or maisonettes in converted houses, on the other hand, cost on average 260,000 British pounds, making them 714,000 British pounds less expensive than detached houses or 151,000 British pounds less than the average for all dwelling types. Prices also varied for new and existing housing, with existing properties fetching higher prices, on average.

Median price paid for existing residential property in England and Wales, by property type and subnational geographies. Annual data.