Official Statistics

UK House Price Index summary: March 2018

Published 23 May 2018

1. Headline statistics for March 2018

the average price of a property in the UK was

£224,144

the annual price change for a property in the UK was

4.2%

the monthly price change for a property in the UK was

-0.2%

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

117.6

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 April 2018 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 13 June 2018. See the calendar of release dates.

2. Economic statement

UK house prices grew by 4.2% in the year to March 2018, unchanged from the year to February 2018.

Looking at the demand for housing, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) UK Residential Market Survey for March 2018 revealed the new buyer enquiries series fell for the 12th consecutive month. RICS mention concerns over affordability and the lack of new instructions as factors hindering demand.

On the supply side, RICS reported the net balance for their new instructions series fell again. Average stocks per responding estate agent remain near a record low. Both sales and price expectations continue to be flat in the near term. There is greater optimism in the longer-term outlook, particularly for prices.

The UK Property Transaction Statistics for March 2018 showed that on a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of transactions on residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 92,270. This is 11.8% lower compared to a year ago. Between February and March 2018, transactions decreased by 7.2%.

The Bank of England’s Money and Credit release showed that on a seasonally adjusted basis, 62,914 mortgages were approved in March 2018. This is a decrease of 867 from the previous month and is below the 6-month average of 65,162. Mortgage approvals are seen to be a leading indicator of transactions volumes.

Looking at the country and regional level, Scotland showed the highest annual growth at 6.7%, down from 6.8% in the previous month. The second fastest growing region was the East of England at 5.8%. The lowest annual growth was in London, which recorded negative annual price growth for the second consecutive month at -0.7%, down from -0.1% in the previous month.

3. Price changes

3.1 Annual price change

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

Average house prices in the UK have increased by 4.2% in the year to March 2018 (unchanged from February 2018).

At the country level, the largest annual price growth was recorded in Scotland, where house prices increased by 6.7% over the year to March 2018.

Wales saw house prices increase by 3.5% over the last 12 months.

In England, the average price increased by 4.0% over the year.

The average price in Northern Ireland increased by 4.2% over the year to quarter 1 (January to March) 2018.

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 £240,949 -0.3% 4.0%
Northern Ireland (Quarter 1 - 2018) £130,026 0.3% 4.2%
Scotland £146,009 0.5% 6.7%
Wales £152,999 -0.1% 3.5%
East Midlands £184,736 -0.6% 5.6%
East of England £291,415 1.0% 5.8%
London £471,944 -0.9% -0.7%
North East £124,381 -1.5% 2.1%
North West £157,461 -0.3% 5.2%
South East £320,682 -0.2% 3.3%
South West £249,839 -0.3% 4.9%
West Midlands Region £188,697 -0.8% 5.1%
Yorkshire and The Humber £155,251 -0.3% 3.7%

Price changes by country and government office region

On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK decreased by 0.1% between March 2018 and February 2018, compared with an increase of 0.3% in average prices during the same period a year earlier.

Note that the Northern Ireland figure represents a three-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 March 2018 March 2017 Difference
Detached £342,722 £325,539 5.3%
Semi-detached £210,283 £201,056 4.6%
Terraced £180,941 £172,990 4.6%
Flat or maisonette £200,157 £196,247 2.0%
All £224,144 £215,078 4.2%

4. Sales volumes

Due to a period of 2 to 8 weeks between completion and registration of sales, volume figures for the most recent two months are not yet at a reliable level for reporting, so they are not included in the report.

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 January 2018 January 2017 Difference
England 50,583 57,498 -12.0%
Northern Ireland (Quarter 1 - 2018) 4,545 5,187 -12.4%
Scotland 5,909 6,380 -7.4%
Wales 2,834 3,056 -7.3%

4.2 Sales volumes for the UK over the past 5 years

Sales volumes for 2014 to 2018 by country: January

Sales volumes

In January 2018, the number of property transactions completed in the UK decreased by 12.9% when compared to January 2017. Compared to December 2017, the number of property transactions completed in the UK decreased by 39.4%.

The estimate for January 2018 is calculated based on around 90% of the final registered transactions. It is likely that the number of property transactions for January 2018 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index.

See our revisions policy for more information.

5. Property status for UK

New build and existing resold property

Property Status Average price January 2018 Monthly change Annual change
New build £282,885 1.8% 5.3%
Existing resold property £220,600 -0.5% 4.4%

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 March 2018 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £188,429 -0.5% 3.7%
Former owner occupier £260,893 0.0% 4.7%

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 March 2018 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £213,915 -0.2% 4.2%
Mortgage £233,696 -0.2% 4.2%

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