Official Statistics

UK House Price Index summary: September 2017

Published 14 November 2017

1. Headline statistics for September 2017

the average price of a property in the UK was

£226,367

the annual price change for a property in the UK was

5.4%

the monthly price change for a property in the UK was

0.4%

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

118.7

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

2. Economic statement

UK house prices grew by 5.4% in the year to September 2017, experiencing an increase of 0.6 percentage points from August 2017.

In terms of housing demand the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) residential market survey (PDF) for September 2017 reported that new buyer enquiries fell during September, as a net balance of -20% more respondents noted a fall in demand. Not only does this extend a sequence of negative readings into a sixth month, it also represents the weakest figure since July 2016.

The UK Property Transaction Statistics (PDF) showed that the number of seasonally adjusted transactions on UK properties with a value of £40,000 or greater has increased by 4.6% between September 2016 and September 2017. However, comparing September 2017 with August 2017, the number of seasonally adjusted property transactions has decreased by 1.8%.

The Bank of England’s Agents’ summary of business conditions (PDF) reported that supply and demand appeared to be broadly in balance across the overall market. Demand had proved more resilient in the new-build sector and the help to buy scheme was regarded as crucial to sustaining demand among first-time buyers.

Looking more closely at regional levels of the UK, the largest annual growth was in the North West at 7.3% up from 5% in August 2017. The slowest annual growth was in London at 2.5%. This is the 10th consecutive month where the growth in London house prices has remained below the UK average.

On the supply side, RICS reported that new instructions to sell were more or less stable for the second report running, having declined continuously over the past 18 months. RICS also reported that little change is anticipated in terms of national sales activity over the coming three months. Likewise, the 12-month outlook is also flat at the national level, although respondents are a little more optimistic in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

3. Price changes

3.1 Annual price change

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

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

Average house prices in the UK have increased by 5.4% in the year to September 2017 (up from 4.8% in the year to August 2017).

The main contribution to the increase in UK house prices came from England, where house prices increased by 5.7% over the year to September 2017.

Wales saw house prices increase by 5.3% over the last 12 months.

In Scotland, the average price increased by 3.1% over the year.

The average price in Northern Ireland increased by 6.0% over the year to Quarter 3 (July to September) 2017.

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 £243,945 0.6% 5.7%
Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 - 2017) £132,169 3.0% 6.0%
Scotland £144,924 -1.3% 3.1%
Wales £152,661 0.6% 5.3%
East Midlands £184,399 0.7% 6.4%
East of England £289,301 0.3% 5.9%
London £483,568 -0.2% 2.5%
North East £130,271 0.5% 4.4%
North West £160,951 2.1% 7.3%
South East £324,465 0.3% 5.5%
South West £252,737 0.5% 6.6%
West Midlands £189,038 0.4% 5.7%
Yorkshire and The Humber £158,884 1.0% 5.6%

Price changes by country and government office region

Price changes by country and government office region

3.3 Average price by property type

Average monthly price by property type

Property type September 2017 September 2016 Difference
Detached £341,941 £323,250 5.8%
Semi-detached £212,477 £201,442 5.5%
Terraced £183,685 £174,173 5.5%
Flat or maisonette £203,388 £194,350 4.7%
All £226,367 £214,816 5.4%

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 by country

Country July 2017 July 2016 Difference
England 64,592 77,919 -17.1%
Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 - 2017) 5,453 5,968 -8.6%
Scotland 8,725 9,249 -5.7%
Wales 3,599 4,057 -11.3%

4.2 Sales volumes for the UK over the past 5 years

Sales volumes for 2013 to 2017 by country: July 2017

Sales volumes for 2013 to 2017 by country: June 2017

In July 2017 the number of property transactions completed in the UK decreased by 15.2% when compared with July 2016. Compared with June 2017, the number of property transactions completed in the UK decreased by 8.6%.

The estimate for July 2017 is calculated based on around 90% of the final registered transactions. It is likely that the number of property transactions for July 2017 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: September 2017

The first estimate for new build is based on a small sample which can cause volatility in this initial estimate.

Property Status Average price Monthly change Annual change
New build £281,082 1.8% 8.9%
Existing resold property £222,565 0.3% 5.1%

6. Buyer status for Great Britain

First time buyer and former owner occupier: September 2017

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

Type of buyer Average price Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £190,679 0.4% 5.1%
Former owner occupier £262,898 0.4% 5.7%

7. Funding status for Great Britain

Cash and mortage: September 2017

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

Funding status Average price Monthly change Annual change
Cash £215,799 0.5% 5.5%
Mortgage £236,088 0.4% 5.4%

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