Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2024. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 116.2 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.

This is the unadjusted median house priced for residential property sales (transactions) in the area for a 12 month period with April in the middle (year-ending September). These figures have been produced by the ONS (Office for National Statistics) using the Land Registry (LR) Price Paid data on residential dwelling transactions.

The LR Price Paid data are comprehensive in that they capture changes of ownership for individual residential properties which have sold for full market value and covers both cash sales and those involving a mortgage.

The median is the value determined by putting all the house sales for a given year, area and type in order of price and then selecting the price of the house sale which falls in the middle. The median is less susceptible to distortion by the presence of extreme values than is the mean. It is the most appropriate average to use because it best takes account of the skewed distribution of house prices.

Note that a transaction occurs when a change of freeholder or leaseholder takes place regardless of the amount of money involved and a property can transact more than once in the time period.

The LR records the actual price for which the property changed hands. This will usually be an accurate reflection of the market value for the individual property, but it is not always the case. In order to generate statistics that more accurately reflect market values, the LR has excluded records of houses that were not sold at market value from the dataset. The remaining data are considered a good reflection of market values at the time of the transaction. For full details of exclusions and more information on the methodology used to produce these statistics please see http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/qmis/housepricestatisticsforsmallareasqmi

The LR Price Paid data are not adjusted to reflect the mix of houses in a given area. Fluctuations in the types of house that are sold in that area can cause differences between the median transactional value of houses and the overall market value of houses. Therefore these statistics differ to the new UK House Price Index (HPI) which reports mix-adjusted average house prices and house price indices.

If, for a given year, for house type and area there were fewer than 5 sales records in the LR Price Paid data, the house price statistics are not reported. Data is Powered by LG Inform Plus and automatically checked for new data on the 3rd of each month.

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

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.

This is the median housing affordability ratio (residence-based) and is calculated by dividing house prices by gross annual earnings, based on the median of both house prices and earnings.

This measure of affordability shows what the people who live in a given area earn in relation to that area's house prices, even if they work elsewhere. This measure does not consider that people may be getting higher earnings from working in other areas.

A higher ratio indicates that on average, it is less affordable for a resident to purchase a house. Conversely, a lower ratio indicates higher affordability in a local authority.

The earnings data are from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings which provides a snapshot of earnings at April in each year. Earnings relate to gross full-time individual earnings on a place of work basis. The house price statistics come from the House Price Statistics for Small Areas, which report the median and lower quartile price paid for residential property and refer to a 12-month period with April in the middle (year ending September).

Data is Powered by LG Inform Plus and automatically checked for new data on the 3rd of each month.

The house price ratio in the United Kingdom (UK) increased in the third quarter of 2024, after falling for the past two years. The ratio measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. The UK's index score in the third quarter of 2024 amounted to 109.2, which means that house price growth has outpaced income growth by nine percent since 2015. This was close, but still lower than the Euro area 17 average.

In 2022, house price growth in the UK slowed, after a period of decade-long increase. Nevertheless, in March 2025, prices reached a new peak, with the average home costing ******* British pounds. This 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 ** 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 recent fluctuations in house prices? 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 ** 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 **-year fixed mortgage rate doubled, adding further strain to prospective homebuyers. As a result, the market cooled, leading to a correction in pricing.

This is the unadjusted lower quartile house priced for residential property sales (transactions) in the area for a 12 month period with April in the middle (year-ending September). These figures have been produced by the ONS (Office for National Statistics) using the Land Registry (LR) Price Paid data on residential dwelling transactions.

The LR Price Paid data are comprehensive in that they capture changes of ownership for individual residential properties which have sold for full market value and covers both cash sales and those involving a mortgage.

The lower quartile is the value determined by putting all the house sales for a given year, area and type in order of price and then selecting the price of the house sale which falls three quarters of the way down the list, such that 75Percentage of transactions lie above and 25Percentage lie below that value. These are particularly useful for assessing housing affordability when viewed alongside average and lower quartile income for given areas.

Note that a transaction occurs when a change of freeholder or leaseholder takes place regardless of the amount of money involved and a property can transact more than once in the time period.

The LR records the actual price for which the property changed hands. This will usually be an accurate reflection of the market value for the individual property, but it is not always the case. In order to generate statistics that more accurately reflect market values, the LR has excluded records of houses that were not sold at market value from the dataset. The remaining data are considered a good reflection of market values at the time of the transaction. For full details of exclusions and more information on the methodology used to produce these statistics please see http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/qmis/housepricestatisticsforsmallareasqmi

The LR Price Paid data are not adjusted to reflect the mix of houses in a given area. Fluctuations in the types of house that are sold in that area can cause differences between the lower quartile transactional value of houses and the overall market value of houses.

If, for a given year, for house type and area there were fewer than 5 sales records in the LR Price Paid data, the house price statistics are not reported." Data is Powered by LG Inform Plus and automatically checked for new data on the 3rd of each month.

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 ******* British pounds in February, nearly double the national average. However, the market dynamics are shifting, with London experiencing only a modest *** percent annual increase, while other cities like Belfast and Liverpool saw more substantial growth of over **** 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.

Ratios of house prices to annual disposable household incomes, by decile, for countries of the UK and regions of England. Part of our additional measures of housing affordability series.

The house price to income index in Europe declined in almost all European countries in 2023, indicating that income grew faster than house prices. Portugal, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands led the house price to income index ranking in 2023, with values exceeding *** index points. Romania, Bulgaria, and Finland were on the other side of the spectrum, with less than 100 index points. The house price to income ratio is an indicator for the development of housing affordability across OECD countries and is calculated as the nominal house prices divided by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 chosen as a base year. A ratio higher than 100 means that the nominal house price growth since 2015 has outpaced the nominal disposable income growth, and housing is therefore comparatively less affordable. In 2023, the OECD average stood at ***** index points.

Housing affordability (house prices to earnings ratio)

*This indicator has been discontinued

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

This data sets out the percentage of residents of the Cambridge housing sub-region who are unable to afford housing, based on contemporary income data and housing costs, broken down into percentage for 1, 2 and 3 bedroom homes.

The data comes from the housing sub-region's Strategic Housing Market Assessment, or SHMA, which is updated regularly. The data provided in this open data set comes from: *SHMA 2013, based on 2011/12 data *SHMA 2012, based on 2009/10 data *SHMA 2010, based on 2008/9 data *SHMA 2009, based on mostly 2007/8 data

The data is all published in chapters of our strategic housing market assessment which are used as part of our calculations around the need for affordable housing, particularly where we need to work out the proportion of people unlikely to be able to afford housing via the private market (owned or rented) and thus potentially in need of "sub market" or affordable housing.

The UK residential real estate market, valued at approximately £360.27 billion in 2025, is projected to experience robust growth, driven by several key factors. Strong population growth, particularly in urban centers, fuels consistent demand for housing, while low interest rates and government initiatives aimed at boosting homeownership further stimulate market activity. The market is segmented into apartments and condominiums, and landed houses and villas, with each segment exhibiting unique growth trajectories. Apartments and condominiums, particularly in London and other major cities, are expected to see higher demand due to affordability concerns and lifestyle preferences, while landed houses and villas continue to appeal to those seeking more space and privacy, particularly in suburban or rural areas. Competition among major developers such as Berkeley Group, Barratt Developments, and others influences pricing and construction activity. While challenges exist, such as fluctuating economic conditions and rising construction costs, the overall outlook for the UK residential real estate market remains positive. The market's performance is also influenced by broader economic factors, such as inflation and employment rates, and is likely to see regional variations, with London and the South East generally commanding higher prices. The market's growth is expected to continue through 2033, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.75%. This growth will likely be influenced by factors such as evolving demographic trends (including increasing urbanization and family sizes), government policies impacting the housing market, and technological advancements impacting the construction and sales processes. International investment continues to play a significant role, especially in prime London properties. However, the market is susceptible to external shocks, such as changes in interest rates or economic downturns. Understanding these factors is crucial for investors and stakeholders operating within the UK residential real estate sector. Market analysis suggests continued demand for sustainable and energy-efficient housing, influencing the development of future projects. This comprehensive report provides an in-depth analysis of the UK residential real estate market, covering the period from 2019 to 2033. With a base year of 2025 and a forecast period spanning 2025-2033, this research offers invaluable insights for investors, developers, and industry professionals seeking to navigate this dynamic market. The report leverages extensive data analysis, covering key segments, emerging trends, and major players, to provide a clear understanding of market dynamics and future growth potential. High-search-volume keywords like UK property market, UK house prices, London property market, UK residential real estate investment, build-to-rent UK, multifamily UK, and UK housing market forecast are integrated throughout to ensure maximum online visibility. Recent developments include: May 2023: A UAE-based investment manager, Rasmala Investment Bank, has launched a USD 2bn ( €1.8bn) UK multifamily strategy for a five-year period to build a USD 2bn portfolio of UK residential properties. The strategy is focused on the UK market for multifamily properties through a Shariah-compliant investment vehicle, initially targeting the serviced apartment (SAP) and BTR (build-to-rent) subsectors within and around London. Seeded by Rasmala Group, the strategy is backed by an active investment pipeline for the next 12 – 18 months., November 2022: ValuStrat, a Middle East consulting company, increased its foothold in the UK by acquiring an interest in Capital Value Surveyors, a real estate advisory services company with offices in London. The UK continues to be one of the most established real estate markets worldwide and attracts foreign investors regularly. They are excited to expand their presence there to better serve all of their clients, both in the UK and the Middle East.. Key drivers for this market are: Demand for New Dwellings Units, Government Initiatives are driving the market. Potential restraints include: Supply Chain Disruptions, Lack of Skilled Labour. Notable trends are: Increasing in the United Kingdom House Prices.