National statistics

UK House Price Index summary: November 2020

Published 20 January 2021

1. Headline statistics for November 2020

The average price of a property in the UK was £249,633

The annual price change for a property in the UK was 7.6%

The monthly price change for a property in the UK was 1.2%

The monthly index figure (January 2015 = 100) for the UK was 130.9

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 December 2020 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 17 February 2021. See the calendar of release dates for more information.

2. Economic statement

UK house prices increased by 7.6% in the year to November 2020, up from 5.9% in October 2020. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 1.2% between October and November 2020, compared with a fall of 0.4% during the same period a year earlier (October and November 2019).

House price growth was strongest in Yorkshire and The Humber and London where prices increased by 9.7% in the year to November 2020. The lowest annual growth was in the East of England, where prices increased by 4.8% in the year to November 2020, up from 4.3% in the year to October 2020.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) November 2020 UK Residential Market Survey results show prices continue to rise sharply across most parts of the UK, although near-term expectations for both prices and transactions point to a more moderate picture over the coming months.

The Bank of England’s Agents’ summary of business conditions - 2020 Q4 reported that following several months of buoyant activity, contacts reported a modest slowdown in November. This was mainly due to coronavirus (COVID-19) related restrictions introduced in various parts of the UK. However, demand was supported by buyers wanting to complete house purchase transactions before the temporary cut in stamp duty ends in March 2021.

The UK Property Transactions Statistics showed that in November 2020, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 115,190. This is 19.3% higher than a year ago. Between October and November 2020, UK transactions increased by 8.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The Bank of England’s Money and Credit November 2020 release reported that mortgage approvals for house purchases (an indicator of future lending) increased further in November 2020 to 105,000, the highest since August 2007.

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 increased by 7.6% in the year to November 2020, up from 5.9% in October 2020.

At the country level, the largest annual house price growth in the year to November 2020 was recorded in Scotland, where house prices increased by 8.6%.

England saw house prices increase by 7.6% in the year to November 2020.

Wales saw house prices increase by 7.0% in the year to November 2020.

Northern Ireland saw house prices increase by 2.4% over the year to Quarter 3 (July to September) 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 £266,742 1.2% 7.6%
Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 - 2020) £143,205 1.5% 2.4%
Scotland £165,703 0.9% 8.6%
Wales £180,229 2.0% 7.0%
East Midlands £208,662 0.6% 7.1%
East of England £302,624 -0.3% 4.8%
London £513,997 4.0% 9.7%
North East £140,248 2.6% 8.3%
North West £180,280 0.2% 8.5%
South East £342,271 1.2% 6.2%
South West £278,391 1.1% 8.5%
West Midlands £213,974 1.0% 6.9%
Yorkshire and The Humber £180,856 1.9% 9.7%

Price changes by country and government office region

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 1.2% between October and November 2020, compared with a fall of 0.4% during the same period a year earlier (October and November 2019). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 1.4% between October and November 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 November 2020 November 2019 Difference
Detached £383,130 £353,249 8.5%
Semi-detached £238,221 £221,620 7.5%
Terraced £203,717 £188,207 8.2%
Flat or maisonette £213,303 £202,398 5.4%
All £249,633 £232,100 7.6%

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 September 2020 September 2019
England 53,428 69,020
Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 - 2020) 4,630 6,769
Scotland 10,168 8,826
Wales 2,518 3,923

Note: The number of property transactions for September 2020 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for September 2019 with the provisional estimate for September 2020, volume transactions decreased by 13.3% in England and 28.8% in Wales, and increased by 17.8% in Scotland. Northern Ireland’s volume transactions decreased by 22.9% in the year to Quarter 3 2020.

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 decreased by 1.6% in England and 20.9% in Wales, increased by 18.6% in Scotland and decreased by 5.8% in Northern Ireland in the year to September 2020.

4.2 Sales volumes for the UK over the past 5 years

Sales volumes for 2016 to 2020 by country: September

Note: The number of property transactions for September 2020 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for September 2019 with the provisional estimate for September 2020, UK volume transactions decreased by 11.4% in the year to September 2020.

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 decreased by 0.8% in the year to September 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 September 2020 Monthly change Annual change
New build £302,927 -0.5% 4.9%
Existing resold property £239,417 1.4% 4.2%

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 November 2020 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £209,163 1.2% 7.3%
Former owner occupier £291,278 1.2% 8.1%

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 November 2020 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £237,355 1.2% 7.4%
Mortgage £260,518 1.3% 7.8%

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