National statistics

UK House Price Index summary: September 2021

Published 17 November 2021

1. Headline statistics for September 2021

The average price of a property in the UK was £269,945

The annual price change for a property in the UK was 11.8%

The monthly price change for a property in the UK was 2.5%

The monthly index figure (January 2015 = 100) for the UK was 141.6

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 2021 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 15 December 2021. See the calendar of release dates for more information.

2. Economic statement

UK house prices increased by 11.8% in the year to September 2021, up from 10.2% in August 2021. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 2.5% between August and September 2021, compared with an increase of 1.1% during the same period a year earlier (August and September 2020).

House price growth was strongest in the North West where prices increased by 16.8% in the year to September 2021. The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices increased by 2.8% in the year to September 2021.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) October 2021 UK Residential Market Survey reported buyer demand picking up slightly. The lack of available supply presents buyers with a limited choice and remains a key factor in strong house price growth.

The Bank of England’s Agents summary of business conditions 2021 Q3 reported ongoing strong demand for housing across most of the UK and a shortage of properties for sale, which pushed up prices.

The UK Property Transactions Statistics showed that in September 2021, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 160,950. This is 68.4% higher than a year ago. Between August and September 2021, UK transactions increased by 67.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis, following a record level of transaction numbers in June 2021, and the subsequent reduction which followed in July.

The Bank of England’s Money and Credit September 2021 release reported that mortgage approvals for house purchases (an indicator of future lending) in September 2021 was 72,600, which is down from 74,200 in August 2021.

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 11.8% in the year to September 2021, up from 10.2% in August 2021.

At the country level, the largest annual house price growth in the year to September 2021 was recorded in Wales, where house prices increased by 15.4%.

Scotland saw house prices increase by 12.3% in the year to September 2021.

England saw house prices increase by 11.5% in the year to September 2021.

Northern Ireland saw house prices increase by 10.7% over the year to Quarter 3 (July to September) 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 £287,895 2.9% 11.5%
Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 - 2021) £159,109 3.0% 10.7%
Scotland £180,334 -0.4% 12.3%
Wales £196,216 2.5% 15.4%
East Midlands £231,318 4.9% 14.7%
East of England £327,982 1.7% 9.3%
London £507,253 -2.9% 2.8%
North East £152,776 3.8% 13.3%
North West £203,661 5.3% 16.8%
South East £370,886 3.0% 11.7%
South West £301,327 4.0% 11.7%
West Midlands Region £231,501 3.1% 11.7%
Yorkshire and The Humber £192,354 4.0% 11.9%

Price changes by country and government office region

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 2.5% between August and September 2021, compared with an increase of 1.1% during the same period a year earlier (August and September 2020). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 2.6% between August and September 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 September 2021 September 2020 Difference
Detached £419,714 £368,665 13.8%
Semi-detached £258,757 £230,230 12.4%
Terraced £221,773 £196,787 12.7%
Flat or maisonette £222,462 £208,846 6.5%
All £269,945 £241,541 11.8%

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 2021 July 2020
England 14,215 54,524
Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 2021 average monthly sales) 2,510 1,766
Scotland 10,667 5,300
Wales 1,008 2,391

Note: The number of property transactions for July 2021 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for July 2020 with the provisional estimate for July 2021, volume transactions decreased by 69.1% in England, increased by 114.1% in Scotland and decreased by 51.6% in Wales. Northern Ireland’s volume transactions increased by 62.6% in the year to Quarter 3 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 decreased by 7.7% in England, increased by 106.2% in Scotland, by 50.8% in Wales and by 45.3% in Northern Ireland in the year to July 2021.

4.2 Sales volumes for the UK over the past 5 years

Sales volumes for 2017 to 2021 by country: July

Note: The number of property transactions for July 2021 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for July 2020 with the provisional estimate for July 2021, UK volume transactions decreased by 48.0% in the year to July 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 3.1% in the year to July 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 July 2021 Monthly change Annual change
New build £337,608 2.7% 14.9%
Existing resold property £248,163 -4.6% 6.5%

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

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

Type of buyer Average price September 2021 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £225,607 2.7% 11.3%
Former owner occupier £315,362 2.4% 12.2%

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 2021 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £256,140 2.7% 11.5%
Mortgage £281,673 2.5% 11.9%

8. Housing transaction distributions

Between April and June 2021, there were 231,366 property sales.

The most popular price range for:

  • England was £150,000 to £174,999 – 12,615 properties were purchased
  • Northern Ireland was £125,000 to £149,999 – 1,315 properties were purchased
  • Scotland was £75,000 to £99,999 – 3,133 properties were purchased
  • Wales was £125,000 to £149,999 – 1,251 properties were purchased

The charts below show the distribution of housing transactions for Q2 (April to June) 2021 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 17
£25,000 to £49,999 690
£50,000 to £74,999 3,212
£75,000 to £99,999 6,077
£100,000 to £124,999 8,000
£125,000 to £149,999 11,116
£150,000 to £174,999 12,615
£175,000 to £199,999 12,457
£200,000 to £224,999 11,406
£225,000 to £249,999 11,779
£250,000 to £274,999 11,420
£275,000 to £299,999 10,795
£300,000 to £324,999 9,484
£325,000 to £349,999 8,766
£350,000 to £374,999 7,988
£375,000 to £399,999 7,204
£400,000 to £424,999 6,074
£425,000 to £449,999 5,487
£450,000 to £474,999 4,918
£475,000 to £499,999 4,438
£500,000 to £524,999 3,381
£525,000 to £549,999 3,141
£550,000 to £574,999 2,704
£575,000 to £599,999 2,409
£600,000 to £624,999 2,166
£625,000 to £649,999 1,885
£650,000 to £674,999 1,698
£675,000 to £699,999 1,523
£700,000 to £724,999 1,294
£725,000 to £749,999 1,109
£750,000 to £774,999 1,065
£775,000 to £799,999 945
£800,000 to £824,999 833
£825,000 to £849,999 713
£850,000 to £874,999 705
£875,000 to £899,999 584
£900,000 to £924,999 508
£925,000 to £949,999 430
£950,000 to £974,999 438
£975,000 to £999,999 373
£1,000,000 to £1,249,999 2,069
£1,250,000 to £1,499,999 1,251
£1,500,000 to £1,749,999 654
£1,750,000 to £1,999,999 355
£2,000,000 to £4,999,999 810
£5,000,000 to £9,999,999 77
Greater than £10,000,000 16

Scotland housing transactions

Price band Housing transactions
Less than £25,000 123
£25,000 to £49,999 845
£50,000 to £74,999 2,159
£75,000 to £99,999 3,133
£100,000 to £124,999 2,864
£125,000 to £149,999 3,019
£150,000 to £174,999 2,588
£175,000 to £199,999 2,281
£200,000 to £224,999 1,779
£225,000 to £249,999 1,563
£250,000 to £274,999 1,230
£275,000 to £299,999 1,037
£300,000 to £324,999 805
£325,000 to £349,999 648
£350,000 to £374,999 460
£375,000 to £399,999 400
£400,000 to £424,999 310
£425,000 to £449,999 229
£450,000 to £474,999 203
£475,000 to £499,999 178
£500,000 to £524,999 129
£525,000 to £549,999 113
£550,000 to £574,999 75
£575,000 to £599,999 78
£600,000 to £624,999 57
£625,000 to £649,999 47
£650,000 to £674,999 39
£675,000 to £699,999 38
£700,000 to £724,999 28
£725,000 to £749,999 20
£750,000 to £774,999 24
£775,000 to £799,999 21
£800,000 to £824,999 16
£825,000 to £849,999 9
£850,000 to £874,999 12
£875,000 to £899,999 18
£900,000 to £924,999 14
£925,000 to £949,999 6
£950,000 to £974,999 6
£975,000 to £999,999 11
£1,000,000 to £1,249,999 51
£1,250,000 to £1,499,999 16
£1,500,000 to £1,749,999 13
£1,750,000 to £1,999,999 3
£2,000,000 to £4,999,999 4
£5,000,000 to £9,999,999 0
Greater than £10,000,000 0

Northern Ireland housing transactions

Price band Housing transactions
Less than £25,000 1
£25,000 to £49,999 49
£50,000 to £74,999 475
£75,000 to £99,999 950
£100,000 to £124,999 931
£125,000 to £149,999 1,315
£150,000 to £174,999 1,052
£175,000 to £199,999 695
£200,000 to £224,999 431
£225,000 to £249,999 353
£250,000 to £274,999 277
£275,000 to £299,999 274
£300,000 to £324,999 181
£325,000 to £349,999 156
£350,000 to £374,999 106
£375,000 to £399,999 110
£400,000 to £424,999 67
£425,000 to £449,999 51
£450,000 to £474,999 47
£475,000 to £499,999 49
Greater than £500,000 185

Wales housing transactions

Price band Housing transactions
Less than £25,000 0
£25,000 to £49,999 39
£50,000 to £74,999 312
£75,000 to £99,999 765
£100,000 to £124,999 1,055
£125,000 to £149,999 1,251
£150,000 to £174,999 1,137
£175,000 to £199,999 998
£200,000 to £224,999 737
£225,000 to £249,999 684
£250,000 to £274,999 548
£275,000 to £299,999 510
£300,000 to £324,999 352
£325,000 to £349,999 284
£350,000 to £374,999 211
£375,000 to £399,999 187
£400,000 to £424,999 118
£425,000 to £449,999 138
£450,000 to £474,999 95
£475,000 to £499,999 78
£500,000 to £524,999 51
£525,000 to £549,999 36
£550,000 to £574,999 37
£575,000 to £599,999 36
£600,000 to £624,999 30
£625,000 to £649,999 25
£650,000 to £674,999 18
£675,000 to £699,999 15
£700,000 to £724,999 16
£725,000 to £749,999 6
£750,000 to £774,999 9
£775,000 to £799,999 10
£800,000 to £824,999 2
£825,000 to £849,999 7
£850,000 to £874,999 5
£875,000 to £899,999 1
£900,000 to £924,999 4
£925,000 to £949,999 2
£950,000 to £974,999 3
£975,000 to £999,999 3
£1,000,000 to £1,249,999 11
£1,250,000 to £1,499,999 1
£1,500,000 to £1,749,999 2
£1,750,000 to £1,999,999 0
£2,000,000 to £4,999,999 1
£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