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.

The average house price in Wales has increased since 2015, with minor fluctuations over time. The house price index is calculated using data on housing transactions and measures the development of house prices, with 2015 chosen as a base year when the index value is set to 100. In June 2024, the house price index reached 158.3 index points, meaning that house prices have grown by 58 percent since 2015 and 1.8 percent since June 2023. Among the different regions in the UK, West and East Midlands experienced the strongest growth.

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

House prices in the UK rose dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic, with growth slowing down in 2022 and turning negative in 2023. The year-on-year annual house price change peaked at 14 percent in July 2022. In June 2024, house prices increased by 2.7 percent. According to the Nationwide Building Society, the average house price exceeded 265,000 British pounds in 2022. Correction in housing prices: a European phenomenon The trend of a growing residential real estate market was not exclusive to the UK during the pandemic. Likewise, many European countries experienced falling prices in 2023. When comparing residential property RHPI (price index in real terms, e.g. corrected for inflation), countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and Spain also saw prices decline. Sweden, one of the countries with the fastest growing residential markets, saw one of the largest declines in prices. How has demand for UK housing changed since the outbreak of the coronavirus? The easing of the lockdown was followed by a dramatic increase in home sales. In November 2020, the number of mortgage approvals reached an all-time high of over 107,000. One of the reasons for the housing boom were the low mortgage rates, allowing home buyers to take out a loan with an interest rate as low as 2.5 percent. That changed as the Bank of England started to raise the base lending rate, resulting in higher borrowing costs and a decline in homebuyer sentiment.

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

The house price index (HPI) shows changes in the value of residential properties in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. With the HPI set at a base of 100 in January 2015, a value of over 100 would mark an increase in the average dwelling price. A value of under 100 points, on the other hand, would indicate that the average price has dropped. House price index in the UK The HPI fluctuated in 2023, after peaking in November 2022. In December 2023, the index stood at 149 index points, which was a slight decline from December 2022. This trend in the index, and therefore the value of UK residential properties, has also been observed by the Halifax house price index. Average house prices Average house prices are affected by several factors. Economic growth, unemployment, interest rates and mortgage availability can all drive them up or down. A shortage of supply means that the need for housing and the competitive market created will push house prices up. An excess of housing, on the other hand, means prices fall to stimulate buyers.

The UK housing market continued to show significant regional variations in 2024, with London maintaining its position as the most expensive city for homebuyers. The average house price in the capital stood at 519,579 British pounds in October, nearly double the national average of 292,059 British pounds. However, the market dynamics are shifting, with London experiencing only a modest 0.2 percent annual increase, while other cities like Newcastle upon Tyne and Belfast saw more substantial growth of 8.8 percent and 6.8 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.

Affordability ratios calculated by dividing house prices for existing dwellings, by gross annual residence-based earnings. Based on the median and lower quartiles of both house prices and earnings in England and Wales.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of house sales in the UK spiked, followed by a period of decline. In 2023, the housing market slowed notably, and in September 2024, transaction volumes fell below 50,000. House sales volumes are affected by a number of factors, including mortgage rates, house prices, supply, demand, as well as the overall health of the market. The economic uncertainty and rising unemployment rates has also affected the homebuyer sentiment of Brits. How have UK house prices developed over the past 10 years? House prices in the UK have increased year-on-year since 2015, except for a brief period of decline in the second half of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. That is based on the 12-month percentage change of the UK house price index. At the peak of the housing boom in 2022, prices soared by nearly 14 percent. The decline that followed was mild, at under three percent. The cooling in the market was more pronounced in England and Wales, where the average house price declined in 2023. Conversely, growth in Scotland and Northern Ireland continued. What is the impact of mortgage rates on house sales? For a long period, mortgage rates were at record-low, allowing prospective homebuyers to take out a 10-year loan at a mortgage rate of less than three percent. In the last quarter of 2021, this period came to an end as the Bank of England rose the bank lending rate to contain the spike in inflation. Naturally, the higher borrowing costs affected consumer sentiment, urging many homebuyers to place their plans on hold and leading to a drop in sales.

Median price paid for residential property in England and Wales, for all property types by lower layer super output area. Annual data..

Affordability ratios calculated by dividing house prices by gross annual workplace-based earnings. Based on the median and lower quartiles of both house prices and earnings in England and Wales.

The residential market in Wales took a hit in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, followed by record-high number of sales in 2021 and a decrease in the next two years. In 2023, there were about 45,000 housing transactions, down from about 64,000 in 2021. This includes all residential property transactions with a value of 40,000 British pounds and above. The uptick in home purchases resulted in the average house price peaking in 2021.

England accounts for the majority of sales in the residential real estate market in the United Kingdom. In September 2024, the total number of housing transactions in the country amounted to nearly 92,000, with approximately 80,000 of these property sales being completed in England. Historically, sales activity has observed notable fluctuations because of the seasonal nature of the market, but also other trends in the market, such as the slump in April 2020 related to the COVID-19 pandemic A declining number of home sales The annual number of home sales in the UK has declined since 2021, with 2023 exhibiting the lowest transaction volume since 2012. The main reason for that trend is the increase in the cost of housing. House prices grew year-on-year between 2012 and 2022, with growth accelerating toward the end of the period due to the record-low mortgage rates. As the cost of living crisis hit in 2022, the Bank of England hiked interest rates, resulting in dramatically higher home finance costs. With house prices at their peak and a double increase in borrowing costs, many prospective homebuyers could not afford to buy and placed their plans on hold. How will prices develop in the next five years? After a slight decline in 2024, house prices in the UK are expected to pick up in the next year and continue on an upward trend until 2028. On average, house prices are projected to grow by 2.7 percent per year.

The housing market in England cooled in 2022 and 2023, after a record year in 2021. In 2023, the number of housing transactions reached approximately 858,000, which was the lowest figure since 2012 when the market was still recovering from the global financial crisis. Some of the main factors that have led to the decline in home buying are the cost of living crisis, higher mortgage rates, low inventory, and the rapid increase in house prices across the UK.

The number of housing transactions in the UK declined for the second year in a row in 2023, falling below the 2020 level. Amid worsening homebuyer sentiment, house purchases declined from approximately 1.5 million transactions with a value of 40,000 British pounds and above in 2021, to one million in 2023. For residential transactions, England constituted the majority of purchases.

From 1 April 2018, LTT replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on residential and non-residential property and land interests purchased in Wales. The tax rates and tax bands for LTT vary depending on the type of transaction. Taxpayers must notify the WRA of all land transactions with a value above £40,000. There are also circumstances where certain lease transactions are not notifiable if they are less than 7 years in duration. When filing an LTT return, the organisation paying the return has 30 days after the effective date to submit and pay the return. This dataset includes estimates of LTT notifiable transactions received by the WRA by the close of 20 January 2025. Care should be taken with any comparisons over time which involve data from spring 2020 to summer 2021. This is due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and changes to LTT rates. A national lockdown on 23 March 2020 resulted in the housing market being mainly closed from this date until 22 June 2020 when it partially re-opened. The market was re-opened more fully on 27 July, to coincide with a change in LTT rates effective until 30 June 2021. There is evidence some purchasers may have brought their transactions forward to June 2021 to benefit from the temporary tax reduction. There were some changes to LTT rates effective from 22 December 2020. Non-residential transactions and higher rates residential transactions were affected. The main residential rates and bands for Land Transaction changed for transactions effective after 10 October 2022. The dataset focuses on the transactions subject to a relief only and includes a breakdown by: - relief type: the four main categories of relief plus an ‘other’ category making up the rest - transaction type: residential, non-residential - transaction description: conveyance / transfer of ownership, granting a new lease, assignment of lease - impact on tax due: yes, no - measure: number of transactions, estimates of the value of tax relieved due, and the tax due on the transactions - effective quarter and year Reliefs can be claimed on both residential and non-residential properties. Reliefs reduce the amount of tax due when certain conditions are met. Multiple reliefs can be applied to a single transaction and reliefs may reduce the tax due to zero (known as a full relief) or by a certain percentage or amount (known as a partial relief). Previously, we excluded linked and relieved transactions from this dataset. This was so that we could carry out further analysis on these transactions. We have now carried out this analysis and have a reasonable level of confidence in the quality of these data. We have now added linked and relieved transactions into this dataset, revising all data back to April 2018. This has added around 60 to 70 relieved transactions each quarter, and an average of £4 million to £5 million each quarter in reliefs. Reliefs are sometimes claimed where they have no impact on the tax due. These can be viewed separately in this dataset and many of them have been reported unnecessarily by the organisations completing the tax returns. As an example, some of these apply to low value residential transactions. Indications are that they are due to a perceived but mistaken need to claim first time buyer relief (which applies for the predecessor tax, but not to Land Transaction Tax). This is known following queries raised with several agents asking why tax reliefs have been claimed where there is no impact on value of the tax. Further information about this category of reliefs is provided in the example 4 in the key quality information found in the weblinks. That example also describes some adjustments that have been made to more correctly identify the value of tax relieved associated with these transactions. Further adjustments are expected in future, and so the numbers shown here for reliefs where there is no impact on tax due are likely to be revised in future.