The average house price for first-time homebuyers in the United Kingdom (UK) was ******* British pounds in 2024, up from ******* British pounds the year before. All regions experienced an increase in 2024, with prices rising the most in Northern Ireland and the West Midlands. The South East and London were the most expensive regions to buy a home, with the average house prices at ******* British pounds and ******* British pounds, respectively.

The average price of houses bought by first-time buyers was notably lower than houses purchased by repeat buyers in London in 2023. Homebuyers spent on overage 383,000 British pounds when purchasing their first property in 2023. For repeat buyers, this figure amounted to 657,000 British pounds in that year. In London, the average house price was about 590,000 British pounds in 2023.

This page is no longer being updated.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.

Download from ONS website

Despite the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reporting that the actual average deposit required to buy a home was ** thousand British pounds (GBP), Santander's survey of potential first-time homeowners found the average target deposit was in some cases much lower. Even in London, where the average property price in early 2019 was over *** thousand British pounds, potential first-time homeowners had a target deposit of around **** percent of the property price (**** thousand GBP).

The issue with having a lower deposit for a new home is that it puts buyers into a higher loan-to-value mortgage ratio. Those in the North East looked to achieve the highest deposit to property price ratio at ******* percent.

This statistic shows the average price of terraced houses built between 1946 and 1960 in Greater London (United Kingdom) from the first quarter of 2011 to the fourth quarter of 2015, according to the Halifax house price index. In the second quarter ending of 2014, the average price of a terraced house from that period in Greater London was 277 thousand British pounds (GBP). By 2015, this price has increased and reached the level of around 354 thousand British pounds in the fourth quarter of 2015.

The UK housing market continued to show significant regional variations in 2025, with London maintaining its position as the most expensive city for homebuyers. The average house price in the capital stood at 555,625 British pounds in February, nearly double the national average. However, the market dynamics are shifting, with London experiencing only a modest 1.7 percent annual increase, while other cities like Belfast and Liverpool saw more substantial growth of over nine percent respectively. Affordability challenges and market slowdown Despite the continued price growth in many cities, the UK housing market is facing headwinds. The affordability of mortgage repayments has become the biggest barrier to property purchases, with the majority of the respondents in a recent survey citing it as their main challenge. Moreover, a rising share of Brits have reported affordability as a challenge since 2021, reflecting the impact of rising house prices and higher mortgage rates. The market slowdown is evident in the declining housing transaction volumes, which have plummeted since 2021. European context The stark price differences are mirrored in the broader European context. While London boasts some of the highest property prices among European cities, a comparison of the average transaction price for new homes in different European countries shows a different picture. In 2023, the highest prices were found in Austria, Germany, and France.

This table shows the average House Price/Earnings ratio, which is an important indicator of housing affordability. Ratios are calculated by dividing house price by the median earnings of a borough.

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) is based on a 1 per cent sample of employee jobs. Information on earnings and hours is obtained in confidence from employers. It does not cover the self-employed nor does it cover employees not paid during the reference period. Information is as at April each year. The statistics used are workplace based full-time individual earnings.

Land Registry housing data are for the first half of the year only, so that they comparable to the ASHE data which are as at April.
Prior to 2006 data are not available for Inner and Outer London.

The lowest 25 per cent of prices are below the lower quartile; the highest 75 per cent are above the lower quartile.
The "lower quartile" property price/income is determined by ranking all property prices/incomes in ascending order.
The 'median' property price/income is determined by ranking all property prices/incomes in ascending order. The point at which one half of the values are above and one half are below is the median.

Regional data has not been published by DCLG since 2012. Data for regions has been calculated by the GLA. Data for 2014 has been calculated by the GLA.

Link to DCLG Live Tables

The average house price in England started to increase in the first half of 2024, after falling by over three percent year-on-year in December 2023. In June 2024, the house price index amounted to 149.7 index points, suggesting an increase in house prices of 2.4 percent since the same month in 2023 and a roughly 50 percent rise since 2015 - the baseline year for the index. Among the different regions in the UK, West and East Midlands experienced the strongest growth.

These National Statistics provide monthly estimates of the number of residential and non-residential property transactions in the UK and its constituent countries. National Statistics are accredited official statistics.

England and Northern Ireland statistics are based on information submitted to the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) database by taxpayers on SDLT returns.

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) replaced SDLT in Scotland from 1 April 2015 and this data is provided to HMRC by https://www.revenue.scot/" class="govuk-link">Revenue Scotland to continue the time series.

Land Transaction Tax (LTT) replaced SDLT in Wales from 1 April 2018. To continue the time series, the https://gov.wales/welsh-revenue-authority" class="govuk-link">Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) have provided HMRC with a monthly data feed of LTT transactions since July 2021.

LTT figures for the latest month are estimated using a grossing factor based on data for the most recent and complete financial year. Until June 2021, LTT transactions for the latest month were estimated by HMRC based upon year on year growth in line with other UK nations.

LTT transactions up to the penultimate month are aligned with LTT statistics.

Go to Stamp Duty Land Tax guidance for the latest rates and information.

Go to Stamp Duty Land Tax rates from 1 December 2003 to 22 September 2022 and Stamp Duty: rates on land transfers before December 2003 for historic rates.

The latest release was published 09:30 27 June 2025 and was updated with provisional data from completed transactions during May 2025.

The next release will be published 09:30 31 July 2025 and will be updated with provisional data from completed transactions during June 2025.

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20240320184933/https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/monthly-property-transactions-completed-in-the-uk-with-value-40000-or-above" class="govuk-link">Archive versions of the Monthly property transactions completed in the UK with value of £40,000 or above are available via the UK Government Web Archive, from the National Archives.

The price-to-earnings ratio for first-time buyers in the United Kingdom was the highest in London and the lowest in Scotland in the fourth quarter of 2024. In London, the average house bought by first-time buyers was about 8.4 times higher than the mean gross earnings in the region. In Scotland, this figure amounted to 3.16.

70% of White British households owned their own homes – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups.

The price of existing dwellings in the UK increased significantly between 1990 and 2023. Existing housing reached a value of 331,000 British pounds in 2023. That was slightly lower than the previous year, when house prices peaked, but a substantial increase since 2019 when prices started to rise rapidly. Overall, flats or maisonettes in converted houses were the most affordable housing type in the UK in 2023.

This statistic shows the average price of residential properties built between 1946 and 1960 in Greater London (United Kingdom) from the first quarter of 2012 to the fourth quarter of 2015, according to the Halifax house price index. Throughout that period, the prices noted a stable growth. In the fourth quarter of 2014, the average price of a residential property built in that period in Greater London reached nearly 313 thousand British pounds (GBP). By the end of the fourth quarter of 2015, the prices of such properties amounted to 364.1 thousand GBP.

The capital city of England, London has a population of approximately nine million residents and by 2041, the population of London is estimated to exceed 10 million individuals. To house them, the sprawling city has a stock of approximately 3.8 million dwellings. Annually, there are between 15,000 and 25,000 housing construction completions. Average house prices The average house price for a first-time buyer in London was over 492,000 British pounds in 2023, more than any other city in the UK. Overall, it was more affordable to buy a newly built property than an existing one, a price gap of over 100,000 British pounds. Average rental costs Unsurprisingly, London also topped the ranking as the most expensive region for renters. The average cost of rent exceeding 2,000 British pounds in 2024. Certain Boroughs in London will set back the average renter more than others. Westminster, Lambeth, and Hammersmith, Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea were the most expensive boroughs based on the average monthly rent.

The borough with the highest property prices in London, Kensington and Chelsea, had an average price for a flat that was about ******* 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 a 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 ** percent. In London, the cost of a flat decreased by *** percent year-on-year as of June 2024. However, some of the most expensive boroughs recorded a decline of over ** 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.

Since 2015, the gap between the cost of buying a home and renting has grown, with homeownership becoming increasingly less affordable. In the ***** ******* of 2024, the house price to rent ratio in the UK stood at *****. That meant that house price growth has outpaced rental growth by nearly ** 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 the 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.