UK House Price Index summary: March 2020
Published 20 May 2020
© Crown copyright 2020
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-house-price-index-summary-march-2020/uk-house-price-index-summary-march-2020
1. Headline statistics for March 2020
The average price of a property in the UK was £231,855
The annual price change for a property in the UK was 2.1%
The monthly price change for a property in the UK was -0.2%
The monthly index figure (January 2015 = 100) for the UK was 121.6
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
Following the publication of the March index on 20 May, the UK HPI has been suspended until further notice. See the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website for more information.
2. Economic statement
The UK HPI is based on completed housing transactions. Typically, a house purchase can take 6 to 8 weeks to reach completion. Therefore, the price data feeding into the March 2020 UK HPI will reflect those completions that occurred before the government measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) took hold.
UK house prices increased by 2.1% in the year to March 2020, up from 2.0% in February 2020. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK decreased by 0.2% between February 2020 and March 2020, compared with a fall of 0.3% during the same period a year earlier (February 2019 and March 2019).
House price growth was strongest in Northern Ireland where prices increased by 3.8% over the year to Quarter 1 2020 (January – March 2020). The highest annual growth within the English regions was in London, where average house prices grew by 4.7%. The lowest, and only negative, annual growth was in the Yorkshire and the Humber, where prices decreased by 1.0% over the year to March 2020.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) March 2020 UK Residential Market Survey reported that house prices rose in the three months to March but the outlook turns negative and, with agents required to close, near term expectations fall dramatically.
The Bank of England’s Agents’ summary of business conditions - 2020Q1 reported that the housing market had seen a marked deterioration, due to the economic uncertainty as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The UK Property Transactions Statistics for March 2020 showed that on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 99,440. This is 0.3% higher than a year ago. Between February 2020 and March 2020, transactions decreased by 0.2%.
The Bank of England’s Money and Credit release reported that mortgage approvals for house purchase (an indicator of future lending) fell to 56,200, their lowest level since March 2013.
3. Price changes
3.1 Annual price change
Annual price change for UK by country over the past 5 years
Download this chart’s data (CSV, 1KB)
Average house prices in the UK increased by 2.1% in the year to March 2020, up from 2.0% in February 2020.
At the country level, the largest annual house price growth was recorded in Northern Ireland, increasing by 3.8% over the year to Quarter 1 (January to March) 2020.
England house prices increased by 2.2% in the year to March 2020.
Scotland saw house prices increase by 1.5% in the year to March 2020.
Wales saw house prices increase by 1.1% in the year to March 2020.
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 | £248,271 | -0.1% | 2.2% |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 1 - 2020) | £140,580 | 0.2% | 3.8% |
| Scotland | £151,856 | 0.4% | 1.5% |
| Wales | £161,684 | -2.8% | 1.1% |
| East Midlands | £194,664 | 0.4% | 2.1% |
| East of England | £291,254 | 0.0% | 1.6% |
| London | £485,794 | 1.2% | 4.7% |
| North East | £126,945 | -0.6% | 1.8% |
| North West | £166,202 | 0.2% | 3.4% |
| South East | £323,353 | 0.6% | 2.0% |
| South West | £263,360 | 2.0% | 4.1% |
| West Midlands Region | £195,917 | -2.3% | 0.4% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £159,208 | -3.6% | -1.0% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
Price changes by country and government office region
The heat map is unavailable due to the impact the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has had on operational services.
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK decreased by 0.2% between February 2020 and March 2020, compared with a fall of 0.3% during the same period a year earlier (February 2019 and March 2019). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.1% between February 2020 and March 2020.
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 | March 2020 | March 2019 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £354,304 | £345,433 | 2.6% |
| Semi-detached | £220,269 | £215,930 | 2.0% |
| Terraced | £186,610 | £183,158 | 1.9% |
| Flat or maisonette | £204,849 | £201,004 | 1.9% |
| All | £231,855 | £227,104 | 2.1% |
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 | January 2020 | January 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| England | 50,456 | 54,134 |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 1 - 2020) | 4,746 | 5,177 |
| Scotland | 6,860 | 6,654 |
| Wales | 2,917 | 3,070 |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
Note: The estimate for January 2020 is calculated based on around 85% of the final registered transactions. The number of property transactions for January 2020 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index.
Comparing the provisional volume estimate for January 2019 with the provisional estimate for January 2020, volume transactions increased by 1.4% in England, increased by 2.3% in Wales, increased by 5.3% in Scotland and increased by 11.1% 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 increased by 6.4% in England, Scotland increased by 3.2% and Wales increased by 6.7% in the year to January 2020.
4.2 Sales volumes for the UK over the past 5 years
Sales volumes for 2016 to 2020 by country: January
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
Note: The estimate for January 2020 is calculated based on around 85% of the final registered transactions. The number of property transactions for January 2020 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.
Comparing the provisional volume estimate for January 2019 with the provisional estimate for January 2020, UK volume transactions increased by 2.5%.
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 increased by 6.2% in the year to January 2020.
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 January 2020 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £302,749 | 8.0% | 7.3% |
| Existing resold property | £228,021 | -0.4% | 1.5% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
Note: Since the 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 the methods used to produce the UK HPI.
6. Buyer status for Great Britain
First time buyer and former owner occupier
| Type of buyer | Average price March 2020 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| First time buyer | £194,718 | -0.3% | 1.8% |
| Former owner occupier | £269,186 | -0.1% | 2.3% |
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 March 2020 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £220,494 | 0.0% | 2.1% |
| Mortgage | £241,506 | -0.3% | 2.0% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
8. Housing transaction distributions
Between October 2019 and December 2019, there were 253,257 property sales.
The most popular price range for:
- England was £150,000 to £174,999 – 16,929 properties were purchased
- Northern Ireland was £125,000 to £149,999 – 1,165 properties were purchased
- Scotland was £75,000 to £99,999 – 3,055 properties were purchased
- Wales was £125,000 to £149,999 – 1,754 properties were purchased
The charts below show the distribution of housing transactions for Q4 (October to December) 2019 for countries of the UK. Data is presented in bands of £25,000 up to £1 million, followed by larger bands up to and over £10 million.
In line with the UK HPI revisions policy, the number of transactions will increase as more data are incorporated into the index, which would also impact the distributions presented in this analysis.
England housing transactions
| Price band | Housing transactions |
|---|---|
| Less than £25,000 | 74 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 1,237 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 5,392 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 9,516 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 12,362 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 15,801 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 16,929 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 16,607 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 14,353 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 14,390 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 13,168 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 11,919 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 9,979 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 8,720 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 7,385 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 6,805 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 5,373 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 4,594 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 3,910 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 3,657 |
| £500,000 to £524,999 | 2,708 |
| £525,000 to £549,999 | 2,460 |
| £550,000 to £574,999 | 2,121 |
| £575,000 to £599,999 | 1,977 |
| £600,000 to £624,999 | 1,657 |
| £625,000 to £649,999 | 1,336 |
| £650,000 to £674,999 | 1,203 |
| £675,000 to £699,999 | 1,113 |
| £700,000 to £724,999 | 881 |
| £725,000 to £749,999 | 818 |
| £750,000 to £774,999 | 839 |
| £775,000 to £799,999 | 667 |
| £800,000 to £824,999 | 567 |
| £825,000 to £849,999 | 500 |
| £850,000 to £874,999 | 554 |
| £875,000 to £899,999 | 454 |
| £900,000 to £924,999 | 354 |
| £925,000 to £949,999 | 326 |
| £950,000 to £974,999 | 291 |
| £975,000 to £999,999 | 256 |
| £1,000,000 to £1,249,999 | 1,613 |
| £1,250,000 to £1,499,999 | 923 |
| £1,500,000 to £1,749,999 | 463 |
| £1,750,000 to £1,999,999 | 257 |
| £2,000,000 to £4,999,999 | 597 |
| £5,000,000 to £9,999,999 | 58 |
| Greater than £10,000,000 | 24 |
Northern Ireland housing transactions
| Price band | Housing transactions |
|---|---|
| Less than £25,000 | 14 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 165 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 726 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 965 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 984 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 1,165 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 847 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 520 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 316 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 256 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 170 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 132 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 71 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 68 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 38 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 45 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 22 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 13 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 8 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 13 |
| Greater than £500,000 | 45 |
Scotland housing transactions
| Price band | Housing transactions |
|---|---|
| Less than £25,000 | 155 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 1,052 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 2,448 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 3,055 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 2,768 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 3,036 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 2,655 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 2,557 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 1,917 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 1,637 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 1,260 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 1,098 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 787 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 570 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 397 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 346 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 267 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 229 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 181 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 145 |
| £500,000 to £524,999 | 109 |
| £525,000 to £549,999 | 90 |
| £550,000 to £574,999 | 83 |
| £575,000 to £599,999 | 66 |
| £600,000 to £624,999 | 58 |
| £625,000 to £649,999 | 39 |
| £650,000 to £674,999 | 30 |
| £675,000 to £699,999 | 40 |
| £700,000 to £724,999 | 35 |
| £725,000 to £749,999 | 21 |
| £750,000 to £774,999 | 16 |
| £775,000 to £799,999 | 16 |
| £800,000 to £824,999 | 11 |
| £825,000 to £849,999 | 9 |
| £850,000 to £874,999 | 8 |
| £875,000 to £899,999 | 6 |
| £900,000 to £924,999 | 7 |
| £925,000 to £949,999 | 6 |
| £950,000 to £974,999 | 7 |
| £975,000 to £999,999 | 5 |
| £1,000,000 to £1,249,999 | 37 |
| £1,250,000 to £1,499,999 | 20 |
| £1,500,000 to £1,749,999 | 9 |
| £1,750,000 to £1,999,999 | 2 |
| £2,000,000 to £4,999,999 | 12 |
Wales housing transactions
| Price band | Housing transactions |
|---|---|
| Less than £25,000 | 2 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 116 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 577 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 1,222 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 1,515 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 1,754 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 1,457 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 1,218 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 881 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 797 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 610 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 508 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 334 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 271 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 191 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 181 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 113 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 95 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 59 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 51 |
| £500,000 to £524,999 | 36 |
| £525,000 to £549,999 | 29 |
| £550,000 to £574,999 | 35 |
| £575,000 to £599,999 | 26 |
| £600,000 to £624,999 | 21 |
| £625,000 to £649,999 | 8 |
| £650,000 to £674,999 | 10 |
| £675,000 to £699,999 | 11 |
| £700,000 to £724,999 | 9 |
| £725,000 to £749,999 | 6 |
| £750,000 to £774,999 | 6 |
| £775,000 to £799,999 | 6 |
| £800,000 to £824,999 | 4 |
| £825,000 to £849,999 | 4 |
| £850,000 to £874,999 | 5 |
| £875,000 to £899,999 | 3 |
| £925,000 to £949,999 | 4 |
| £950,000 to £974,999 | 3 |
| £1,000,000 to £1,249,999 | 2 |
| £1,500,000 to £1,749,999 | 3 |
| £2,000,000 to £4,999,999 | 1 |
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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