National statistics

UK House Price Index summary: September 2019

Published 13 November 2019

1. Headline statistics for September 2019

the average price of a property in the UK was

£234,370

the annual price change for a property in the UK was

1.3%

the monthly price change for a property in the UK was

-0.2%

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

123.0

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 October 2019 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 18 December 2019. See the calendar of release dates.

2. Economic statement

UK house prices grew by 1.3% in the year to September 2019, unchanged from August 2019. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK fell by 0.2% between August 2019 and September 2019, compared with a fall of 0.2% during the same period a year earlier (August 2018 and September 2018).

House price growth was strongest in Northern Ireland where prices increased by 4.0% over the year to Quarter 3 (July to September) 2019. The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices fell by 0.4% over the year to September 2019, followed by the East of England where prices fell by 0.2% over the year.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) September 2019 UK Residential Market Survey reported a fall in new-buyer enquiries net balance, indicating a slight decline in buyer demand. New instructions to sell fell to its lowest reading since June 2016, reflecting a decline in the volume of fresh listings coming on to the market. In line with this falling demand and supply, the newly agreed sales series edged down as activity decreased in virtually all parts of the UK.

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 September 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 101,740. This is 2.3% higher than a year ago. Between August 2019 and September 2019, transactions increased by 5.0%.

The Bank of England’s Money and Credit release reported that mortgage approvals for house purchase (an indicator of future lending) were broadly unchanged in September 2019, at 66,000, and remained within the narrow range seen over the past three years.

3. Price changes

3.1 Annual price change

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

A chart showing the annual price change for the UK by country over the past 5 years.

Average house prices in the UK increased by 1.3% in the year to September 2019, unchanged from August 2019.

At the country level, the largest annual price growth was recorded in Northern Ireland, increasing by 4.0% over the year to Quarter 3 (July to September) 2019.

Scotland saw house prices increase by 2.4% over the last 12 months.

Wales house prices increased by 2.6% over the year to September 2019.

The slowest annual growth was in England where prices increased by 1.0% in the year to September 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 £250,677 -0.1% 1.0%
Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 - 2019) £139,951 2.3% 4.0%
Scotland £155,029 0.3% 2.4%
Wales £164,433 -2.8% 2.6%
East Midlands £194,219 -1.2% 0.1%
East of England £291,993 -0.4% -0.2%
London £474,601 -0.1% -0.4%
North East £132,769 0.0% 2.0%
North West £167,683 -0.3% 2.8%
South East £329,197 1.0% 0.7%
South West £260,158 0.0% 0.5%
West Midlands £201,273 -0.4% 1.6%
Yorkshire and The Humber £165,745 -0.1% 2.2%

Price changes by country and government office region

A heat map showing price changes by country and government office region.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK fell by 0.2% between August 2019 and September 2019, compared with a fall of 0.2% during the same period a year earlier (August 2018 and September 2018). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.2% between August 2019 and September 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 September 2019 September 2018 Difference
Detached £354,453 £351,794 0.8%
Semi-detached £222,228 £218,879 1.5%
Terraced £189,427 £187,079 1.3%
Flat or maisonette £209,148 £206,000 1.5%
All £234,370 £231,454 1.3%

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 July 2019 July 2018
England 65,901 73,910
Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 - 2019) 6,002 6,563
Scotland 8,851 8,899
Wales 3,940 4,227

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

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

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for July 2018 with the provisional estimate for July 2019, volume transactions increased by 3.3% in England, 0.9% in Scotland, 6.4% in Wales and 4.9% 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 1.0% in England, 0.8% in Scotland and 3.1% in Wales in the year to July 2019.

4.2 Sales volumes for the UK over the past 5 years

Sales volumes for 2015 to 2019 by country: July

A chart showing sales volumes by country for July 2015, July 2016, July 2018, July 2018 and July 2019.

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

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for July 2018 with the provisional estimate for July 2019, volume transactions increased by 3.3%.

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 0.9% in the year to July 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 July 2019 Monthly change Annual change
New build £296,343 5.7% 4.6%
Existing resold property £229,288 0.8% 0.6%

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 September 2019 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £197,433 0.2% 1.4%
Former owner occupier £271,472 -0.5% 1.0%

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 September 2019 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £223,536 0.0% 1.2%
Mortgage £243,937 -0.3% 1.2%

8. Housing transaction distributions

Between April 2019 and June 2019, there were 225,912 property sales.

The most popular price range for:

  • England was £150,000 to £174,999 – 15,583 properties were purchased
  • Northern Ireland was £125,000 to £149,999 – 1,081 properties were purchased
  • Scotland was £75,000 to £99,999 – 3,192 properties were purchased
  • Wales was £125,000 to £149,999 – 1,589 properties were purchased

The charts below show the distribution of housing transactions for Q2 (April to June) 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 70
£25,000 to £49,999 1,232
£50,000 to £74,999 5,019
£75,000 to £99,999 8,897
£100,000 to £124,999 11,468
£125,000 to £149,999 14,707
£150,000 to £174,999 15,583
£175,000 to £199,999 14,849
£200,000 to £224,999 12,747
£225,000 to £249,999 12,867
£250,000 to £274,999 11,473
£275,000 to £299,999 10,416
£300,000 to £324,999 8,644
£325,000 to £349,999 7,433
£350,000 to £374,999 6,512
£375,000 to £399,999 5,668
£400,000 to £424,999 4,656
£425,000 to £449,999 3,858
£450,000 to £474,999 3,355
£475,000 to £499,999 3,077
£500,000 to £524,999 2,292
£525,000 to £549,999 2,001
£550,000 to £574,999 1,746
£575,000 to £599,999 1,628
£600,000 to £624,999 1,374
£625,000 to £649,999 1,104
£650,000 to £674,999 1,000
£675,000 to £699,999 881
£700,000 to £724,999 737
£725,000 to £749,999 652
£750,000 to £774,999 663
£775,000 to £799,999 542
£800,000 to £824,999 431
£825,000 to £849,999 399
£850,000 to £874,999 423
£875,000 to £899,999 292
£900,000 to £924,999 282
£925,000 to £949,999 242
£950,000 to £974,999 237
£975,000 to £999,999 192
£1,000,000 to £1,249,999 1,201
£1,250,000 to £1,499,999 631
£1,500,000 to £1,749,999 354
£1,750,000 to £1,999,999 214
£2,000,000 to £4,999,999 454
£5,000,000 to £9,999,999 66
Greater than £10,000,000 17

Northern Ireland housing transactions

Price band Housing transactions
Less than £25,000 17
£25,000 to £49,999 149
£50,000 to £74,999 700
£75,000 to £99,999 856
£100,000 to £124,999 925
£125,000 to £149,999 1,081
£150,000 to £174,999 734
£175,000 to £199,999 486
£200,000 to £224,999 270
£225,000 to £249,999 213
£250,000 to £274,999 146
£275,000 to £299,999 89
£300,000 to £324,999 58
£325,000 to £349,999 41
£350,000 to £374,999 30
£375,000 to £399,999 36
£400,000 to £424,999 18
£425,000 to £449,999 20
£450,000 to £474,999 9
£475,000 to £499,999 4
Greater than £500,000 46

Scotland housing transactions

Price band Housing transactions
Less than £25,000 146
£25,000 to £49,999 930
£50,000 to £74,999 2,323
£75,000 to £99,999 3,192
£100,000 to £124,999 2,780
£125,000 to £149,999 3,135
£150,000 to £174,999 2,683
£175,000 to £199,999 2,464
£200,000 to £224,999 1,851
£225,000 to £249,999 1,549
£250,000 to £274,999 1,263
£275,000 to £299,999 1,018
£300,000 to £324,999 710
£325,000 to £349,999 523
£350,000 to £374,999 389
£375,000 to £399,999 352
£400,000 to £424,999 240
£425,000 to £449,999 193
£450,000 to £474,999 177
£475,000 to £499,999 118
£500,000 to £524,999 91
£525,000 to £549,999 74
£550,000 to £574,999 62
£575,000 to £599,999 44
£600,000 to £624,999 55
£625,000 to £649,999 37
£650,000 to £674,999 39
£675,000 to £699,999 25
£700,000 to £724,999 17
£725,000 to £749,999 14
£750,000 to £774,999 14
£775,000 to £799,999 16
£800,000 to £824,999 10
£825,000 to £849,999 11
£850,000 to £874,999 7
£875,000 to £899,999 7
£900,000 to £924,999 8
£925,000 to £949,999 8
£950,000 to £974,999 3
£975,000 to £999,999 6
£1,000,000 to £1,249,999 26
£1,250,000 to £1,499,999 20
£1,500,000 to £1,749,999 7
£1,750,000 to £1,999,999 2
£2,000,000 to £4,999,999 5

Wales housing transactions

Price band Housing transactions
Less than £25,000 3
£25,000 to £49,999 131
£50,000 to £74,999 643
£75,000 to £99,999 1,182
£100,000 to £124,999 1,355
£125,000 to £149,999 1,589
£150,000 to £174,999 1,348
£175,000 to £199,999 1,071
£200,000 to £224,999 734
£225,000 to £249,999 636
£250,000 to £274,999 492
£275,000 to £299,999 433
£300,000 to £324,999 241
£325,000 to £349,999 220
£350,000 to £374,999 166
£375,000 to £399,999 122
£400,000 to £424,999 97
£425,000 to £449,999 62
£450,000 to £474,999 39
£475,000 to £499,999 38
£500,000 to £524,999 29
£525,000 to £549,999 21
£550,000 to £574,999 18
£575,000 to £599,999 18
£600,000 to £624,999 10
£625,000 to £649,999 10
£650,000 to £674,999 7
£675,000 to £699,999 6
£700,000 to £724,999 5
£725,000 to £749,999 6
£750,000 to £774,999 3
£775,000 to £799,999 1
£800,000 to £824,999 5
£825,000 to £849,999 3
£875,000 to £899,999 1
£900,000 to £924,999 1
£925,000 to £949,999 1
£950,000 to £974,999 2
£975,000 to £999,999 1
£1,000,000 to £1,249,999 2
£1,250,000 to £1,499,999 1
£1,500,000 to £1,749,999 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