UK House Price Index Wales: December 2020
Published 17 February 2021
Applies to England and Wales
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-house-price-index-wales-december-2020/uk-house-price-index-wales-december-2020
1. Headline statistics for December 2020
The average price of a property in Wales was £184,195
The annual price change of a property for Wales was 10.7%
The monthly price change of a property for Wales was 2.3%
The index figure for Wales (January 2015 = 100) was 135.3
Estimates for the most recent months are provisional and are likely to be updated as more data is incorporated into the index. Read the revision policies.
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
Wales house prices increased by 10.7% in the year to December 2020, up from 6.9% in the year to November 2020. Wales house prices were growing faster than the UK annual rate of 8.5% in the year to December 2020. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis average house prices in Wales increased by 2.3% between November and December 2020, compared with a decrease of 1.2% during the same period a year earlier (November and December 2019). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Wales increased by 1.9% between November and December 2020.
Comparing the provisional volume estimate for October 2019 with the provisional estimate for October 2020, volume transactions decreased by 4.2% in Wales, from 3,880 to 3,717. UK volume transactions increased by 5.6%, from 85,225 to 89,969, over the same period.
In Wales, all 22 local authority areas showed an increase in average house prices in December 2020 when compared with December 2019. Blaenau Gwent showed the strongest growth, rising by 16.3% to £109,000 in the year to December 2020. In contrast, Merthyr Tydfil showed the slowest growth in the year to December 2020, at 0.2% with the average house prices at £119,000.
Of all property types, terraced houses showed the biggest annual growth, rising by 11.4% in the year to December 2020, to £144,000. The lowest annual change of all property types was for flats and maisonettes, with an increase of 8.0% in the year to December 2020 to £125,000.
As with other indicators in the housing market, which typically fluctuate from month to month, it is important not to put too much weight on one month’s set of house price data.
3. Price change
3.1 Annual price change
Annual price change for Wales over the past 5 years
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
In Wales, average prices increased by 10.7% in the year to December 2020, up from 6.9% in November 2020.
Annual price change by local authority for Wales
Low numbers of sales transactions in some local authorities can lead to volatility in the series.
While we make efforts to account for this volatility, the change in price in these local levels can be influenced by the type and number of properties sold in any given period.
Geographies with low number of sales transactions should be analysed in the context of their longer-term trends rather than focusing on monthly movements.
| Local authorities | December 2020 | December 2019 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blaenau Gwent | £108,526 | £93,288 | 16.3% |
| Bridgend | £167,309 | £158,698 | 5.4% |
| Caerphilly | £149,060 | £139,876 | 6.6% |
| Cardiff | £227,553 | £213,554 | 6.6% |
| Carmarthenshire | £166,430 | £153,669 | 8.3% |
| Ceredigion | £199,562 | £186,784 | 6.8% |
| Conwy | £192,371 | £174,400 | 10.3% |
| Denbighshire | £167,575 | £163,525 | 2.5% |
| Flintshire | £191,848 | £171,180 | 12.1% |
| Gwynedd | £174,834 | £165,117 | 5.9% |
| Isle of Anglesey | £202,313 | £184,679 | 9.5% |
| Merthyr Tydfil | £118,924 | £118,653 | 0.2% |
| Monmouthshire | £296,435 | £274,034 | 8.2% |
| Neath Port Talbot | £141,949 | £124,982 | 13.6% |
| Newport | £200,042 | £184,530 | 8.4% |
| Pembrokeshire | £198,344 | £181,071 | 9.5% |
| Powys | £206,656 | £188,779 | 9.5% |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | £129,016 | £120,094 | 7.4% |
| Swansea | £165,705 | £153,192 | 8.2% |
| Torfaen | £172,486 | £149,285 | 15.5% |
| Vale of Glamorgan | £237,570 | £227,587 | 4.4% |
| Wrexham | £166,692 | £157,298 | 6.0% |
| Wales | £184,195 | £166,433 | 10.7% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
Average price by local authority for Wales
In December 2020, the most expensive area to purchase a property was Monmouthshire, where the average cost was £296,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was Blaenau Gwent, where the average cost was £109,000.
3.2 Average price change by property type
Average price change by property type for Wales
| Property type | December 2020 | December 2019 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £278,109 | £250,719 | 10.9% |
| Semi-detached | £177,623 | £161,024 | 10.3% |
| Terraced | £144,124 | £129,382 | 11.4% |
| Flat or maisonette | £125,186 | £115,908 | 8.0% |
| All | £184,195 | £166,433 | 10.7% |
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 by local authority
Sales volumes for Wales by local authority
| Local authorities | October 2020 | October 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Blaenau Gwent | 86 | 76 |
| Bridgend | 237 | 234 |
| Caerphilly | 179 | 239 |
| Cardiff | 399 | 528 |
| Carmarthenshire | 254 | 267 |
| Ceredigion | 108 | 91 |
| Conwy | 163 | 191 |
| Denbighshire | 149 | 138 |
| Flintshire | 161 | 211 |
| Gwynedd | 129 | 164 |
| Isle of Anglesey | 92 | 110 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 58 | 93 |
| Monmouthshire | 94 | 120 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 191 | 163 |
| Newport | 149 | 213 |
| Pembrokeshire | 143 | 190 |
| Powys | 163 | 149 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | 281 | 320 |
| Swansea | 250 | 287 |
| Torfaen | 104 | 121 |
| Vale of Glamorgan | 183 | 238 |
| Wrexham | 144 | 151 |
| 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 decreased by 4.2% in Wales.
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 4.3% in Wales in the year to October 2020.
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
4.2 Sales volumes
Sales volumes for Wales over the past 5 years
| Date | Sales volumes for Wales |
|---|---|
| October 2016 | 3,957 |
| October 2017 | 4,471 |
| October 2018 | 4,387 |
| October 2019 | 4,294 |
| October 2020 | 3,717 |
Download this chart’s data (CSV, 1KB)
5. Property status
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 for Wales
| Property status | Average price October 2020 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £236,096 | 1.7% | 7.3% |
| Existing resold property | £173,807 | 3.4% | 6.6% |
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 methods used to produce the UK HPI.
6. Buyer status
First time buyer and former owner occupier for Wales
| Type of buyer | Average price December 2020 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| First time buyer | £159,106 | 2.6% | 10.5% |
| Former owner occupier | £213,417 | 1.9% | 10.9% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
7. Funding status
Cash and mortgage indicator for Wales
| Funding status | Average price December 2020 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £178,870 | 2.0% | 10.2% |
| Mortgage | £187,378 | 2.4% | 11.0% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
8. Repossession sales volume
Due to a period of 2 weeks to 2 months between completion and registration of sales, repossession volume figures for the most recent 2 months are not yet complete, so they are not included in the report.
Repossession sales volume
| Country | Repossession sales volume October 2020 |
|---|---|
| Wales | 33 |
Download the data for England and Wales (CSV, 7KB)
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 for Wales queries
Eileen Morrison, Data Services Team Leader, HM Land Registry
Email eileen.morrison@landregistry.gov.uk
Telephone 0300 006 5288