National statistics

UK House Price Index Wales: June 2020

Published 16 September 2020

Applies to England and Wales

1. Headline statistics for June 2020

The average price of a property in Wales was £167,505

The annual price change of a property for Wales was 2.8%

The monthly price change of a property for Wales was 2.7%

The index figure for Wales (January 2015 = 100) was 123.0

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 July 2020 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 7 October 2020. See the provisional publication schedule for more information.

2. Economic statement

Wales house prices increased by 2.8% in the year to June 2020, up from 0.9% in the year to May 2020. Wales house prices were growing slower than the UK annual rate of 3.4% in the year to June 2020. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis average house prices in Wales increased by 2.7% between May 2020 and June 2020, compared with an increase of 0.8% during the same period a year earlier (May 2019 and June 2019). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Wales increased by 2.4% between May 2020 and June 2020.

In Wales, 13 out of 22 local authority areas showed an increase in average prices in June 2020 when compared with June 2019. Ceredigion showed the strongest growth, rising by 11.8% to £207,261 in the year to June 2020. In contrast, Gwynedd showed the lowest annual change, falling by 5.9% to £149,323 in the year to June 2020.

Of all property types, terraced houses showed the biggest annual growth, rising by 3.3% in the year to June 2020, to £130,967. The lowest annual change of all property types was for flats and maisonettes, with a decrease of 0.5% in the year to June 2020 to £114,698.

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

A chart showing the annual price change for Wales over the past 5 years.

In Wales, average prices increased by 2.8% in the year to June 2020, up from 0.9% in May 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 June 2020 June 2019 Difference
Blaenau Gwent £95,904 £90,322 6.2%
Bridgend £151,853 £153,476 -1.1%
Caerphilly £142,750 £138,408 3.1%
Cardiff £213,706 £207,014 3.2%
Carmarthenshire £146,832 £145,770 0.7%
Ceredigion £207,261 £185,462 11.8%
Conwy £167,036 £166,535 0.3%
Denbighshire £163,094 £152,963 6.6%
Flintshire £161,821 £170,165 -4.9%
Gwynedd £149,323 £158,699 -5.9%
Isle of Anglesey £171,497 £175,088 -2.1%
Merthyr Tydfil £105,914 £106,300 -0.4%
Monmouthshire £264,508 £274,185 -3.5%
Neath Port Talbot £123,387 £120,705 2.2%
Newport £189,403 £183,708 3.1%
Pembrokeshire £172,140 £174,787 -1.5%
Powys £186,215 £178,682 4.2%
Rhondda Cynon Taf £118,135 £113,376 4.2%
Swansea £148,641 £147,331 0.9%
Torfaen £147,239 £150,407 -2.1%
Vale of Glamorgan £232,810 £229,005 1.7%
Wrexham £151,463 £157,210 -3.7%
Wales £167,505 £162,908 2.8%

Average price by local authority for Wales

A heat map showing the average price by local authority for Wales.

In June 2020, the most expensive area to purchase a property was Monmouthshire, where the average cost was £265,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was Blaenau Gwent, where the average cost was £96,000.

3.2 Average price change by property type

Average price change by property type for Wales

Property type June 2020 June 2019 Difference
Detached £250,905 £244,265 2.7%
Semi-detached £162,632 £157,580 3.2%
Terraced £130,967 £126,735 3.3%
Flat or maisonette £114,698 £115,229 -0.5%
All £167,505 £162,908 2.8%

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 by local authority

Sales volumes for Wales by local authority

Local authorities April 2020 April 2019
Blaenau Gwent 39 79
Bridgend 69 187
Caerphilly 69 178
Cardiff 115 361
Carmarthenshire 76 194
Ceredigion 25 76
Conwy 35 166
Denbighshire 20 126
Flintshire 34 193
Gwynedd 50 146
Isle of Anglesey 37 89
Merthyr Tydfil 19 61
Monmouthshire 21 90
Neath Port Talbot 58 154
Newport 58 186
Pembrokeshire 51 159
Powys 41 139
Rhondda Cynon Taf 117 256
Swansea 105 236
Torfaen 38 92
Vale of Glamorgan 49 171
Wrexham 40 123
Wales 1,166 3,462

Note: The number of property transactions for April 2020 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for April 2019 with the provisional estimate for April 2020, volume transactions decreased by 63.3% 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 decreased by 56.5% in Wales in the year to April 2020.

4.2 Sales volumes

Sales volumes for Wales over the past 5 years

Date Sales volumes for Wales
April 2016 2,822
April 2017 3,490
April 2018 3,367
April 2019 3,462
April 2020 1,166

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 April 2020 Monthly change Annual change
New build £223,787 -1.7% 3.7%
Existing resold property £156,744 -4.6% -0.9%

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 June 2020 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £144,930 2.7% 2.9%
Former owner occupier £193,697 2.7% 2.7%

7. Funding status

Cash and mortgage indicator for Wales

Funding status Average price June 2020 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £162,333 3.1% 2.8%
Mortgage £170,575 2.6% 2.8%

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 April 2020
Wales 22

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