National statistics

UK House Price Index summary: August 2019

Published 16 October 2019

1. Headline statistics for August 2019

the average price of a property in the UK was

£234,853

the annual price change for a property in the UK was

1.3%

the monthly price change for a property in the UK was

0.8%

the monthly index figure (January 2015 = 100) for the UK was

123.2

Estimates for the most recent months are provisional and are likely to be updated as more data is incorporated into the index. Read Revisions to the UK HPI data.

Next publication of UK HPI

The September 2019 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 13 November 2019. See the calendar of release dates.

2. Economic statement

UK house prices grew by 1.3% in the year to August 2019, up from 0.8% in July 2019. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.8% between July 2019 and August 2019, compared with a rise of 0.3% during the same period a year earlier (July 2018 and August 2018).

House price growth was strongest in Wales where prices increased by 4.5% in the year to August 2019, up from 3.8% in the year to July 2019. The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices fell by 1.4% over the year to August 2019, followed by the South East where prices fell by 0.6% over the year.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) August 2019 UK Residential Market Survey reported a flat trend in demand (new buyer enquiries) at the national level, following a few months in which enquiries had increased modestly. Newly agreed sales moved slightly further into negative territory. Alongside this, new instructions to sell were broadly unchanged for the third successive report.

The Bank of England’s Agents‘ summary of business conditions – 2019 Q3 reported that the housing market continued to soften, reflecting deteriorating supply and demand. Estate agents reported softer demand in the secondary market, though demand for lower-priced properties was more resilient.

The UK Property Transactions Statistics for August 2019 showed that on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions on residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 99,890. This is 0.9% higher than a year ago. Between July 2019 and August 2019, transactions increased by 15.8%.

The Bank of England’s Money and Credit release reported that mortgage approvals for house purchase (an indicator of future lending) decreased in August 2019 to 65,500. This is down from the previous peak seen in July 2019 of 67,000 but remained within the narrow range seen over the past 3 years.

3. Price changes

3.1 Annual price change

Annual price change for UK by country over the past 5 years

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Average house prices in the UK increased by 1.3% in the year to August 2019, up from 0.8% in July 2019.

At the country level, the largest annual price growth was recorded in Wales, increasing by 4.5% over the year to August 2019.

Scotland saw house prices increase by 1.6% over the last 12 months.

The slowest annual growth was in England where prices increased by 1.1% in the year to August 2019.

Northern Ireland house prices increased by 3.5% over the year to Quarter 2 (April to June) 2019.

3.2 Average price by country and government office region

Price, monthly change and annual change by country and government office region

Country and government office region	Price	Monthly change	Annual change
England	£251,233	0.8%	1.1%
Northern Ireland (Quarter 2 - 2019)	£136,767	0.8%	3.5%
Scotland	£154,549	0.3%	1.6%
Wales	£168,318	2.3%	4.5%
East Midlands	£197,682	1.8%	2.6%
East of England	£294,192	0.3%	0.1%
London	£472,753	-1.3%	-1.4%
North East	£134,736	3.1%	3.3%
North West	£168,221	1.3%	3.1%
South East	£326,232	0.8%	-0.6%
South West	£260,901	0.7%	0.9%
West Midlands	£201,510	1.5%	2.4%
Yorkshire and The Humber	£165,767	0.2%	1.0%

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Price changes by country and government office region

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.8% between July 2019 and August 2019, compared with a rise of 0.3% during the same period a year earlier (July 2018 and August 2018). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.6% between July 2019 and August 2019.

Note: The Northern Ireland figure represents a 3-month change and is not comparable with the other regions and countries.

3.3 Average price by property type

Average monthly price by property type

Property type	August 2019	August 2018	Difference
Detached	£360,661	£350,964	2.8%
Semi-detached	£223,275	£218,970	2.0%
Terraced	£190,614	£187,871	1.5%
Flat or maisonette	£203,452	£207,243	-1.8%
All	£234,853	£231,898	1.3%

Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)

4. Sales volumes

The amount of time between the sale of a property and the registration of this information varies. It typically ranges between 2 weeks and 2 months but can be longer. Volume figures for the most recent 2 months are not yet at a reliable level for reporting, so they are not included in the report. Published transactions for recent months will increase as later registered transactions are incorporated into the index.

Sales volume data is also available by property status (new build and existing property) and funding status (cash and mortgage) in our downloadable data tables. Transactions involving the creation of a new register, such as new builds, are more complex and require more time to process. Read Revisions to the UK HPI data for more information.

4.1 Sales volumes

Number of sales volumes by country

Country	June 2019	June 2018
England	59,975	79,056
Northern Ireland (Quarter 2 - 2019)	5,210	6,189
Scotland	9,020	10,558
Wales	3,584	4,344

Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)

Note: The ‘Difference’ column has been removed from this table as the latest month’s data are not yet complete.

The estimate for June 2019 is calculated based on around 85% of the final registered transactions. The number of property transactions for June 2019 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for June 2018 with the provisional estimate for June 2019, volume transactions fell by 5.8% in England, 13.4% in Scotland, 4.5% in Wales and 1.8% in Northern Ireland.

UK Property Transaction Statistics published by HM Revenue & Customs (which differ in coverage but are more complete for this period) report that on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, volume transactions fell by 13.7% in England and 27.1% in Scotland and 6.4% in Wales in the year to June 2019.

4.2 Sales volumes for the UK over the past 5 years

Sales volumes for 2015 to 2019 by country: June

Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)

The estimate for June 2019 is calculated based on around 85% of the final registered transactions. The number of property transactions for June 2019 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for June 2018 with the provisional estimate for June 2019, volume transactions fell by 6.4%.

UK Property Transaction Statistics published by HM Revenue & Customs (which differ in coverage but are more complete for this period) report that on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, UK volume transactions fell by 14.7% in the year to June 2019.

5. Property status for UK

Transactions involving the creation of a new register, such as new builds, are more complex and need more time to process. This means they can take longer to appear in the land registers. The volume of new build transactions for the most recent 2 months are not at a reliable level for reporting the breakdown between new build and existing resold property, so they are not included in the report.

New build and existing resold property

Property status	Average price June 2019	Monthly change	Annual change
New build	£282,051	0.4%	1.1%
Existing resold property	£227,595	0.6%	1.1%

Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)

Note: Since October 2017 release, amendments have been made to our estimation model when calculating our provisional estimate. Find out further information and the impact of this change in methods used to produce the UK HPI.

6. Buyer status for Great Britain

First time buyer and former owner occupier

For Great Britain only, Northern Ireland data is not available for buyer status.

Type of buyer	Average price August 2019	Monthly change	Annual change
First time buyer	£196,921	0.4%	0.7%
Former owner occupier	£273,680	1.2%	1.8%

Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)

7. Funding status for Great Britain

Cash and mortgage

For Great Britain only, Northern Ireland data is not available for funding status.

Funding status	Average price August 2019	Monthly change	Annual change
Cash	£223,593	0.9%	1.1%
Mortgage	£244,851	0.8%	1.4%

Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)

8. Access the data

Download the data as CSV files or access it with our UK HPI tool.

Data revisions

View any revisions to previously published data in the data downloads or find out more about revisions in our guidance About the UK HPI.

9. About the UK House Price Index

The UK House Price Index (UK HPI) is calculated by the Office for National Statistics and Land & Property Services Northern Ireland. Find out about the methodology used to create the UK HPI.

Data for the UK House Price Index is provided by HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, The Land & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency and the Valuation Office Agency.

Find out more about the UK House Price Index.

10. Contact

Eileen Morrison, Data Services Team Leader, HM Land Registry

Email eileen.morrison@landregistry.gov.uk

Telephone 0300 006 5288

Aimee North, Head of Housing Market Indices, Office for National Statistics

Email aimee.north@ons.gov.uk

Telephone 01633 456400

Ciara Cunningham, Statistician for the Northern Ireland HPI

Email ciara.cunningham@finance-ni.gov.uk

Telephone 028 90 336035

Anne MacDonald, Land & Property Data Team, Registers of Scotland

Email Anne.MacDonald@ros.gov.uk

Telephone 0131 378 4991