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.

Just as in many other countries, the housing market in the UK grew substantially during the coronavirus pandemic, fueled by robust demand and low borrowing costs. Nevertheless, high inflation and the increase in mortgage rates has led to house price growth slowing down. According to the forecast, 2024 is expected to see house prices decrease by three percent. Between 2024 and 2028, the average house price growth is projected at 2.7 percent. A contraction after a period of continuous growth In June 2022, the UK's house price index exceeded 150 index points, meaning that since 2015 which was the base year for the index, house prices had increased by 50 percent. In just two years, between 2020 and 2022, the index surged by 30 index points. As the market stood in December 2023, the average price for a home stood at approximately 284,691 British pounds. Rents are expected to continue to grow According to another forecast, the prime residential market is also expected to see rental prices grow in the next years. Growth is forecast to be stronger in 2024 and slow down in the period between 2025 and 2028. The rental market in London is expected to follow a similar trend, with Central London slightly outperforming Greater London.

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.

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.

The house price index in London reached 129.9 index points in June 2024, which was an increase from a year ago, despite a mild correction. The house price index (HPI) is an easy way of illustrating trends in the house sales market and help simplify house purchase decisions. By using hedonic regression, the index models property price data for all dwellings and shows how much the price has changed since January 2015. How have regional house prices in the UK developed? House prices in other UK regions have risen even more than in London. In the North West, the house price index exceeded 160 index points, ranking it among the regions with the highest property appreciation. The UK house price index stood at 151 index points, suggesting an increase of 51 percent since 2015. Average house prices Location plays a huge role in the price of a home. Kensington and Chelsea and City of Westminster are undoubtedly the most expensive boroughs in London, with an average house price that can exceed one million British pounds. In comparison, a house in Barking and Dagenham cost approximately one third. Nevertheless, the housing market is the busiest in the boroughs with average house prices.

Average annual and quarterly house prices based on Land Registry data, by borough.

Lower and Upper quartile prices are included in the table. Quarterly Lower Quartile data is taken from DCLG Table 583 up to Q3 2011. All other data is from Land Registry.
Excluded from the above figures are sales at less than market price (e.g. Right To Buy), sales below £1,000 and sales above £20m.
The "median" property price is determined by ranking all property prices in ascending order.
The median is the mid-point of this ranking with 50 per cent of prices below the median and 50 per cent above
The figures for the latest quarter are provisional and figures for all other quarters have been revised.

Data from CLG Table numbers: 581, 582, 585 and 586.

From the 1st of November 2012 DCLG no longer publishes this data at regional level.

Now also includes monthly data from the Land Registry.

Also available are Average house prices for London, by borough, ward, LSOA and MSOA, based on GLA calculations of Land Registry price paid datasets.

Price Paid Datasets

The full land registry price paid datasets are available to download here. This shows details of each house sale since 1995 in England and Wales. The files are broken down into smaller chunks to make it possible to open in Excel2010.

The England and Wales files contain the following fields:

unique_id
price
date
Post code
Property type
Whether newbuild
Freehold
Address1
Town

Local_authority
County
Record_status
Year
Month
Quarter
Region
Country

The London files contain the following fields:

id (London)
transaction_id
Price
Date_processed
Quarter
Month
Year
Year_month
Post_code
Property_type
Whether_new
Tenure
Address1
Address2
Address3
Address4
Town
Local_authority
County
Record_status
Post_code_clean
Inner_outer
Borough_code
Borough_name
Ward_code
Ward_name
MSOA11
LSOA11
OA11

Download (Beware: large file sizes):

England and Wales 1995-2013 (Zip) 911MB

London 1995-2013 (Zip) 190MB

NB Files correct to end of March 2014.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/house-price-index-background-tables

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-housing-market-and-house-prices

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.

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.

The average house price in Edinburgh 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 was set to 100. In June 2024, the house price index reached 151 index points, meaning that house prices have grown by about six percent since last year and nearly 51 percent since 2015. Among the different regions in the UK, West and East Midlands experienced the strongest growth.

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.

Housing Starts in the United Kingdom increased to 29310 units in the third quarter of 2024 from 25020 units in the second quarter of 2024. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Housing Starts - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2023. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 117.5 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.

According to the forecast, house prices in London are expected to fall slightly in 2024, followed by a recovery in the following years. The decline can be explained with the cost of living crisis and the dramatic increase in borrowing costs. As the economy recovers in the next five-years, house prices for mainstream properties are forecast to rise by almost 14 percent. In 2023, the average house price in London ranged between 350,000 British pounds and 1.4 million British pounds, depending on the borough. Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Newham, and Croydon were some of the most affordable boroughs to buy a house.

This statistic illustrates the average house prices in London by local authority district as of December 1997 and December 2017. the graph shows the price rises that have occurred for housing in a twenty year period. The average house price in Kensington and Chelsea at the end of 1997 was over 265 thousand British pounds which rose to over 1.21 million British pounds in 2017. The entirety of London has seen huge price increases over the last twenty years.

The current average price per night globally on Airbnb is $137 per night.

In 2024, approximately 65 percent of all housing in England was owner-occupied. This share declined notably since the early 2000's, as house prices gradually grew and affordability declined. In 2021, mortgage interest rates soared, leading to even lower homebuyer sentiment.

These Airbnb statistics detail how fast Airbnb is currently growing and where it’s going in the future.

The most Airbnb listings are in the US, with an average of 2.25 million active listings throughout 2021.

Mortgage rates increased at a record pace in 2022, with the 10-year fixed mortgage rate doubling between March 2022 and December 2022. With inflation increasing, the Bank of England introduced several bank rate hikes, resulting in higher mortgage rates. In September 2023, the average 10-year fixed rate interest rate reached 5.1 percent. As borrowing costs get higher, demand for housing is expected to decrease, leading to declining market sentiment and slower house price growth. How have the mortgage hikes affected the market? After surging in 2021, the number of residential properties sold declined in 2022, reaching close to 1.3 million. Despite the number of transactions falling, this figure was higher than the period before the COVID-10 pandemic. The falling transaction volume also impacted mortgage borrowing. Between the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, the value of new mortgage loans fell year-on-year for fourth straight quarters in a row. How are higher mortgages affecting homebuyers? Homeowners with a mortgage loan usually lock in a fixed rate deal for two to ten years, meaning that after this period runs out, they need to renegotiate the terms of the loan. Many of the mortgages outstanding were taken out during the period of record-low mortgage rates and have since faced notable increases in their monthly repayment. About five million homeowners are projected to see their deal expire by the end of 2026. About two million of these loans are projected to experience a monthly payment increase of up to 199 British pounds by 2026.