UK House Price Index summary: December 2020
Published 17 February 2021
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-house-price-index-summary-december-2020/uk-house-price-index-summary-december-2020
1. Headline statistics for December 2020
The average price of a property in the UK was £251,500
The annual price change for a property in the UK was 8.5%
The monthly price change for a property in the UK was 1.2%
The monthly index figure (January 2015 = 100) for the UK was 131.9
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 January 2021 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 24 March 2021. See the calendar of release dates for more information.
2. Economic statement
UK house prices increased by 8.5% in the year to December 2020, up from 7.1% in November 2020. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 1.2% between November and December 2020, compared with a fall of 0.1% during the same period a year earlier (November and December 2019).
House price growth was strongest in the North West where prices increased by 11.2% in the year to December 2020. The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices increased by 3.5% in the year to December 2020, down from 7.0% in the year to November 2020.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) December 2020 UK Residential Market Survey results continue to point to rising activity across the market, and shows house price inflation remains elevated across most parts of the UK, with the exception of London.
The Bank of England’s Agents’ summary of business conditions - 2020 Q4 reported that, following several months of buoyant housing market activity, contacts reported a modest slowdown in November 2020. 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 December 2020, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 129,400. This is 31.5% higher than a year ago. Between November and December 2020, UK transactions increased by 13.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The Bank of England’s Money and Credit December 2020 release reported that mortgage approvals for house purchases (an indicator of future lending) in December 2020 was 103,400. This was slightly lower than in November, but well above the February 2020 level.
3. Price changes
3.1 Annual price change
Annual price change for UK by country over the past 5 years
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Average house prices in the UK increased by 8.5% in the year to December 2020, up from 7.1% in November 2020.
At the country level, the largest annual house price growth in the year to December 2020 was recorded in Wales, where house prices increased by 10.7%.
England saw house prices increase by 8.5% in the year to December 2020.
Scotland saw house prices increase by 8.4% in the year to December 2020.
Northern Ireland saw house prices increase by 5.3% over the year to Quarter 4 (October to December) 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 | £269,150 | 1.5% | 8.5% |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 4 - 2020) | £147,593 | 3.0% | 5.3% |
| Scotland | £162,983 | -1.2% | 8.4% |
| Wales | £184,195 | 2.3% | 10.7% |
| East Midlands | £215,046 | 2.8% | 10.6% |
| East of England | £310,912 | 2.4% | 7.0% |
| London | £496,066 | -1.1% | 3.5% |
| North East | £141,154 | 1.9% | 9.2% |
| North West | £183,727 | 2.5% | 11.2% |
| South East | £341,007 | 0.1% | 6.1% |
| South West | £282,388 | 2.3% | 10.2% |
| West Midlands | £216,950 | 1.9% | 9.4% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £182,907 | 1.1% | 10.4% |
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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 November and December 2020, compared with a fall of 0.1% during the same period a year earlier (November and December 2019). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 1.3% between November and December 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 | December 2020 | December 2019 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £386,257 | £351,118 | 10.0% |
| Semi-detached | £239,946 | £220,545 | 8.8% |
| Terraced | £205,864 | £188,460 | 9.2% |
| Flat or maisonette | £213,807 | £203,611 | 5.0% |
| All | £251,500 | £231,792 | 8.5% |
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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 | October 2020 | October 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| England | 66,643 | 74,620 |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 4 - 2020) | 7,401 | 6,757 |
| Scotland | 12,205 | 9,456 |
| Wales | 3,717 | 4,294 |
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Note: The number of property transactions for October 2020 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.
Comparing the provisional volume estimate for October 2019 with the provisional estimate for October 2020, volume transactions increased by 0.9% in England and 31.9% in Scotland, while Wales decreased by 4.2%. Northern Ireland’s volume transactions increased by 22.9% in the year to Quarter 4 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 increased by 11.2% in England, 4.3% in Wales, 36.1% in Scotland and by 20.0% in Northern Ireland in the year to October 2020.
4.2 Sales volumes for the UK over the past 5 years
Sales volumes for 2016 to 2020 by country: October
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Note: The number of property transactions for October 2020 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.
Comparing the provisional volume estimate for October 2019 with the provisional estimate for October 2020, UK volume transactions increased by 5.6% in the year to October 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 increased by 13.3% in the year to October 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 October 2020 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £306,997 | -0.4% | 6.3% |
| Existing resold property | £242,374 | 1.3% | 5.8% |
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 December 2020 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| First time buyer | £210,727 | 1.3% | 7.9% |
| Former owner occupier | £293,134 | 1.2% | 9.3% |
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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 December 2020 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £239,867 | 1.4% | 8.7% |
| Mortgage | £261,949 | 1.1% | 8.5% |
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8. Housing transaction distributions
Between July 2020 and September 2020, there were 192,072 property sales.
The most popular price range for:
- England was £150,000 to £174,999 – 12,194 properties were purchased
- Northern Ireland was £125,000 to £149,999 – 845 properties were purchased
- Scotland was £75,000 to £99,999 – 2,500 properties were purchased
- Wales was £125,000 to £149,999 – 989 properties were purchased
The charts below show the distribution of housing transactions for Q3 (July to September) 2020 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 | 49 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 902 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 3851 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 6455 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 8690 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 11362 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 12194 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 11939 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 10408 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 10419 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 9454 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 8762 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 7317 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 6586 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 5852 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 5222 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 4358 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 3772 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 3334 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 3024 |
| £500,000 to £524,999 | 2333 |
| £525,000 to £549,999 | 2056 |
| £550,000 to £574,999 | 1804 |
| £575,000 to £599,999 | 1655 |
| £600,000 to £624,999 | 1482 |
| £625,000 to £649,999 | 1261 |
| £650,000 to £674,999 | 1137 |
| £675,000 to £699,999 | 1010 |
| £700,000 to £724,999 | 935 |
| £725,000 to £749,999 | 810 |
| £750,000 to £774,999 | 781 |
| £775,000 to £799,999 | 622 |
| £800,000 to £824,999 | 577 |
| £825,000 to £849,999 | 520 |
| £850,000 to £874,999 | 511 |
| £875,000 to £899,999 | 451 |
| £900,000 to £924,999 | 394 |
| £925,000 to £949,999 | 293 |
| £950,000 to £974,999 | 345 |
| £975,000 to £999,999 | 278 |
| £1,000,000 to £1,249,999 | 1719 |
| £1,250,000 to £1,499,999 | 966 |
| £1,500,000 to £1,749,999 | 561 |
| £1,750,000 to £1,999,999 | 318 |
| £2,000,000 to £4,999,999 | 725 |
| £5,000,000 to £9,999,999 | 82 |
| Greater than £10,000,000 | 15 |
Northern Ireland housing transactions
| Price band | Housing transactions |
|---|---|
| Less than £25,000 | 8 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 117 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 501 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 703 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 653 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 845 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 671 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 417 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 260 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 213 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 140 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 101 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 95 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 64 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 36 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 45 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 23 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 13 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 19 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 17 |
| Greater than £500,000 | 52 |
Scotland housing transactions
| Price band | Housing transactions |
|---|---|
| Less than £25,000 | 134 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 863 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 1851 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 2500 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 2293 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 2299 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 2125 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 2072 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 1541 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 1430 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 1118 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 846 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 653 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 540 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 381 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 337 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 269 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 183 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 135 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 118 |
| £500,000 to £524,999 | 83 |
| £525,000 to £549,999 | 88 |
| £550,000 to £574,999 | 66 |
| £575,000 to £599,999 | 59 |
| £600,000 to £624,999 | 50 |
| £625,000 to £649,999 | 32 |
| £650,000 to £674,999 | 21 |
| £675,000 to £699,999 | 40 |
| £700,000 to £724,999 | 17 |
| £725,000 to £749,999 | 24 |
| £750,000 to £774,999 | 19 |
| £775,000 to £799,999 | 13 |
| £800,000 to £824,999 | 5 |
| £825,000 to £849,999 | 11 |
| £850,000 to £874,999 | 14 |
| £875,000 to £899,999 | 7 |
| £900,000 to £924,999 | 8 |
| £925,000 to £949,999 | 2 |
| £950,000 to £974,999 | 6 |
| £975,000 to £999,999 | 9 |
| £1,000,000 to £1,249,999 | 19 |
| £1,250,000 to £1,499,999 | 15 |
| £1,500,000 to £1,749,999 | 9 |
| £1,750,000 to £1,999,999 | 2 |
| £2,000,000 to £4,999,999 | 5 |
| £5,000,000 to £9,999,999 | 0 |
| Greater than £10,000,000 | 0 |
Wales housing transactions
| Price band | Housing transactions |
|---|---|
| Less than £25,000 | 0 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 56 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 379 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 699 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 793 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 989 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 918 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 718 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 508 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 454 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 363 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 301 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 203 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 146 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 126 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 130 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 65 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 58 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 47 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 37 |
| £500,000 to £524,999 | 33 |
| £525,000 to £549,999 | 22 |
| £550,000 to £574,999 | 17 |
| £575,000 to £599,999 | 22 |
| £600,000 to £624,999 | 15 |
| £625,000 to £649,999 | 6 |
| £650,000 to £674,999 | 10 |
| £675,000 to £699,999 | 12 |
| £700,000 to £724,999 | 9 |
| £725,000 to £749,999 | 6 |
| £750,000 to £774,999 | 10 |
| £775,000 to £799,999 | 3 |
| £800,000 to £824,999 | 2 |
| £825,000 to £849,999 | 1 |
| £850,000 to £874,999 | 2 |
| £875,000 to £899,999 | 1 |
| £900,000 to £924,999 | 3 |
| £925,000 to £949,999 | 1 |
| £950,000 to £974,999 | 3 |
| £975,000 to £999,999 | 1 |
| £1,000,000 to £1,249,999 | 5 |
| £1,250,000 to £1,499,999 | 1 |
| £1,500,000 to £1,749,999 | 1 |
| £1,750,000 to £1,999,999 | 0 |
| £2,000,000 to £4,999,999 | 0 |
| £5,000,000 to £9,999,999 | 0 |
| Greater than £10,000,000 | 0 |
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