National statistics

UK House Price Index summary: December 2020

Published 17 February 2021

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

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%

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%

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

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

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%

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%

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%

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