UK House Price Index summary: March 2021
Published 19 May 2021
© Crown copyright 2021
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-house-price-index-summary-march-2021/uk-house-price-index-summary-march-2021
1. Headline statistics for March 2021
The average price of a property in the UK was £256,405
The annual price change for a property in the UK was 10.2%
The monthly price change for a property in the UK was 1.8%
The monthly index figure (January 2015 = 100) for the UK was 134.5
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 April 2021 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 16 June 2021. See the calendar of release dates for more information.
2. Economic statement
UK house prices increased by 10.2% in the year to March 2021, up from 9.2% in February 2021. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 1.8% between February and March 2021, compared with an increase of 0.9% during the same period a year earlier (February and March 2020).
House price growth was strongest in Yorkshire and The Humber where prices increased by 14.0% in the year to March 2021. The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices increased by 3.7% in the year to March 2021.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) March 2021 UK Residential Market Survey results show sales market activity picking up sharply over the month, with indicators on enquiries, sales and new instructions all improving noticeably, following an extension of the stamp duty holiday and a gradual easing of lockdown restrictions.
The Bank of England’s Agents summary of business conditions 2021 Q1 reported that contacts said the outlook for the housing market had improved, with activity supported by the extension of the property transaction tax holiday and of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Estate agents expressed concern about a shortage of properties for sale and said buyers appeared to be less price sensitive than normal.
The UK Property Transactions Statistics showed that in March 2021, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 190,980. This is 102.4% higher than a year ago. Between February and March 2021, UK transactions increased by 32.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The Bank of England’s Money and Credit March 2021 release reported that the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases (an indicator of future lending) in March 2021 was 82,700.
3. Price changes
3.1 Annual price change
Annual price change for UK by country over the past 5 years
Download this chart’s data (CSV, 1KB)
Average house prices in the UK increased by 10.2% in the year to March 2021, up from 9.2% in February 2021.
At the country level, the largest annual house price growth in the year to March 2021 was recorded in Wales, where house prices increased by 11.0%.
Scotland saw house prices increase by 10.6% in the year to March 2021.
England saw house prices increase by 10.2% in the year to March 2021.
Northern Ireland saw house prices increase by 6.0% over the year to Quarter 1 (January to March) 2021.
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 | £274,615 | 1.7% | 10.2% |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 1 - 2021) | £149,178 | 1.1% | 6.0% |
| Scotland | £166,566 | 2.8% | 10.6% |
| Wales | £185,431 | 3.1% | 11.0% |
| East Midlands | £219,950 | 1.9% | 12.4% |
| East of England | £315,059 | 1.2% | 9.4% |
| London | £500,310 | 1.0% | 3.7% |
| North East | £145,893 | 3.0% | 13.7% |
| North West | £187,924 | 1.2% | 12.8% |
| South East | £348,615 | 0.9% | 7.9% |
| South West | £287,650 | 2.6% | 10.9% |
| West Midlands | £220,982 | 1.8% | 10.7% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £188,575 | 3.4% | 14.0% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
Price changes by country and government office region
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 1.8% between February and March 2021, compared with an increase of 0.9% during the same period a year earlier (February and March 2020). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 2.1% between February and March 2021.
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 | March 2021 | March 2020 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £395,202 | £353,711 | 11.7% |
| Semi-detached | £244,814 | £221,427 | 10.6% |
| Terraced | £211,277 | £188,734 | 11.9% |
| Flat or maisonette | £214,365 | £204,144 | 5.0% |
| All | £256,405 | £232,684 | 10.2% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
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 | January 2021 | January 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| England | 53,323 | 56,603 |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 1 - 2021) | 2,244 | 1,788 |
| Scotland | 7,562 | 7,022 |
| Wales | 2,597 | 3,171 |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
Note: The number of property transactions for January 2021 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.
Comparing the provisional volume estimate for January 2020 with the provisional estimate for January 2021, volume transactions increased by 5.7% in England and 10.2% in Scotland, and decreased by 11.0% in Wales. Northern Ireland’s volume transactions increased by 41.8% in the year to Quarter 1 2021.
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 17.8% in England, 10.8% in Scotland, 0.5% in Wales and by 19.4% in Northern Ireland in the year to January 2021.
4.2 Sales volumes for the UK over the past 5 years
Sales volumes for 2017 to 2021 by country: January
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
Note: The number of property transactions for January 2021 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.
Comparing the provisional volume estimate for January 2020 with the provisional estimate for January 2021, UK volume transactions increased by 6.3% in the year to January 2021.
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 16.4% in the year to January 2021.
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 January 2021 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £302,956 | 0.4% | 2.9% |
| Existing resold property | £247,471 | 0.2% | 8.7% |
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 March 2021 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| First time buyer | £214,452 | 1.6% | 9.5% |
| Former owner occupier | £299,590 | 2.2% | 11.1% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
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 March 2021 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £244,199 | 2.0% | 10.4% |
| Mortgage | £267,336 | 1.9% | 10.3% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
8. Housing transaction distributions
Between October and December 2020, there were 271,107 property sales.
The most popular price range for:
- England was £150,000 to £174,999 – 15,369 properties were purchased
- Northern Ireland was £125,000 to £149,999 – 1,322 properties were purchased
- Scotland was £125,000 to £149,999 – 3,802 properties were purchased
- Wales was £125,000 to £149,999 – 1,624 properties were purchased
The charts below show the distribution of housing transactions for Q4 (October to December) 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 | 44 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 982 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 4,291 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 8,147 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 10,389 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 13,871 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 15,369 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 15,114 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 13,545 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 13,937 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 12,642 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 11,803 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 10,589 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 9,750 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 8,406 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 7,794 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 6,353 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 5,950 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 5,058 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 4,875 |
| £500,000 to £524,999 | 3,643 |
| £525,000 to £549,999 | 3,293 |
| £550,000 to £574,999 | 3,075 |
| £575,000 to £599,999 | 2,810 |
| £600,000 to £624,999 | 2,223 |
| £625,000 to £649,999 | 2,074 |
| £650,000 to £674,999 | 1,833 |
| £675,000 to £699,999 | 1,643 |
| £700,000 to £724,999 | 1,388 |
| £725,000 to £749,999 | 1,256 |
| £750,000 to £774,999 | 1,210 |
| £775,000 to £799,999 | 999 |
| £800,000 to £824,999 | 772 |
| £825,000 to £849,999 | 793 |
| £850,000 to £874,999 | 759 |
| £875,000 to £899,999 | 656 |
| £900,000 to £924,999 | 546 |
| £925,000 to £949,999 | 480 |
| £950,000 to £974,999 | 476 |
| £975,000 to £999,999 | 410 |
| £1,000,000 to £1,249,999 | 2,257 |
| £1,250,000 to £1,499,999 | 1,316 |
| £1,500,000 to £1,749,999 | 653 |
| £1,750,000 to £1,999,999 | 415 |
| £2,000,000 to £4,999,999 | 807 |
| £5,000,000 to £9,999,999 | 78 |
| Greater than £10,000,000 | 13 |
Scotland housing transactions
| Price band | Housing transactions |
|---|---|
| Less than £25,000 | 148 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 1,050 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 2,661 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 3,739 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 3,526 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 3,802 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 3,597 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 3,258 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 2,573 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 2,472 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 1,946 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 1,517 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 1,127 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 882 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 754 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 572 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 442 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 320 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 274 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 252 |
| £500,000 to £524,999 | 194 |
| £525,000 to £549,999 | 149 |
| £550,000 to £574,999 | 124 |
| £575,000 to £599,999 | 99 |
| £600,000 to £624,999 | 100 |
| £625,000 to £649,999 | 73 |
| £650,000 to £674,999 | 64 |
| £675,000 to £699,999 | 55 |
| £700,000 to £724,999 | 51 |
| £725,000 to £749,999 | 29 |
| £750,000 to £774,999 | 36 |
| £775,000 to £799,999 | 33 |
| £800,000 to £824,999 | 25 |
| £825,000 to £849,999 | 21 |
| £850,000 to £874,999 | 23 |
| £875,000 to £899,999 | 13 |
| £900,000 to £924,999 | 11 |
| £925,000 to £949,999 | 14 |
| £950,000 to £974,999 | 13 |
| £975,000 to £999,999 | 10 |
| £1,000,000 to £1,249,999 | 63 |
| £1,250,000 to £1,499,999 | 35 |
| £1,500,000 to £1,749,999 | 13 |
| £1,750,000 to £1,999,999 | 7 |
| £2,000,000 to £4,999,999 | 10 |
Northern Ireland housing transactions
| Price band | Housing transactions |
|---|---|
| Less than £25,000 | 16 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 161 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 688 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 1,018 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 1,054 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 1,322 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 1,070 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 690 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 440 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 411 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 283 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 236 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 146 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 116 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 92 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 62 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 46 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 35 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 24 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 31 |
| Greater than £500,000 | 122 |
Wales housing transactions
| Price band | Housing transactions |
|---|---|
| Less than £25,000 | 1 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 65 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 438 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 1,009 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 1,304 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 1,624 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 1,468 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 1,144 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 886 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 874 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 687 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 572 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 343 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 352 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 277 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 221 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 142 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 127 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 90 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 90 |
| £500,000 to £524,999 | 49 |
| £525,000 to £549,999 | 44 |
| £550,000 to £574,999 | 52 |
| £575,000 to £599,999 | 34 |
| £600,000 to £624,999 | 28 |
| £625,000 to £649,999 | 26 |
| £650,000 to £674,999 | 22 |
| £675,000 to £699,999 | 20 |
| £700,000 to £724,999 | 11 |
| £725,000 to £749,999 | 15 |
| £750,000 to £774,999 | 8 |
| £775,000 to £799,999 | 8 |
| £800,000 to £824,999 | 11 |
| £825,000 to £849,999 | 3 |
| £850,000 to £874,999 | 3 |
| £875,000 to £899,999 | 2 |
| £900,000 to £924,999 | 5 |
| £925,000 to £949,999 | 1 |
| £950,000 to £974,999 | 2 |
| £975,000 to £999,999 | 5 |
| £1,000,000 to £1,249,999 | 11 |
| £1,250,000 to £1,499,999 | 5 |
| £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