National statistics

UK House Price Index Wales: September 2021

Published 17 November 2021

Applies to England and Wales

1. Headline statistics for September 2021

The average price of a property in Wales was £196,216

The annual price change of a property for Wales was 15.4%

The monthly price change of a property for Wales was 2.5%

The index figure for Wales (January 2015 = 100) was 144.1

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 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

Wales house prices increased by 15.4% in the year to September 2021, up from 10.7% in August 2021. Wales house prices were growing faster than the UK annual rate of 11.8% in the year to September 2021. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis average house prices in Wales increased by 2.5% between August and September 2021, compared with a decrease of 1.7% during the same period a year earlier (August and September 2020). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Wales increased by 4.2% between August and September 2021.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for July 2020 with the provisional estimate for July 2021, volume transactions decreased by 51.6% in Wales, from 2,081 to 1,008. UK volume transactions decreased by 48.0%, from 54,650 to 28,400, over the same period.

In Wales, all local authority areas showed an increase in average house prices in September 2021 when compared with September 2020. Vale of Glamorgan showed the strongest growth, rising by 20.6% to £283,709 in the year to September 2021. In contrast, Bridgend showed the lowest annual change, with an increase of 3.1% in the year to September 2021, with the average house price at £172,583.

Of all property types, detached houses showed the biggest annual growth, rising by 17.0% in the year to September 2021 to £301,194. The lowest annual change of all property types was for flats and maisonettes, with an increase of 11.8% in the year to September 2021 to £129,167.

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

In Wales, average prices increased by 15.4% in the year to September 2021, up from 10.7% in August 2021.

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 September 2021 September 2020 Difference
Blaenau Gwent £115,277 £96,966 18.9%
Bridgend £172,583 £167,320 3.1%
Caerphilly £159,103 £145,687 9.2%
Cardiff £244,895 £216,182 13.3%
Carmarthenshire £186,852 £155,678 20.0%
Ceredigion £218,450 £197,971 10.3%
Conwy £196,174 £175,371 11.9%
Denbighshire £181,305 £158,666 14.3%
Flintshire £188,925 £173,684 8.8%
Gwynedd £189,685 £165,878 14.4%
Isle of Anglesey £208,306 £192,273 8.3%
Merthyr Tydfil £122,777 £110,161 11.5%
Monmouthshire £315,256 £285,587 10.4%
Neath Port Talbot £139,282 £125,801 10.7%
Newport £202,483 £191,418 5.8%
Pembrokeshire £210,410 £189,452 11.1%
Powys £220,793 £193,645 14.0%
Rhondda Cynon Taf £135,370 £119,124 13.6%
Swansea £168,257 £156,149 7.8%
Torfaen £178,193 £158,059 12.7%
Vale of Glamorgan £283,709 £235,322 20.6%
Wrexham £189,888 £160,147 18.6%
Wales £196,216 £170,030 15.4%

Average price by local authority for Wales

In September 2021, the most expensive area to purchase a property was Monmouthshire, where the average cost was £315,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was Blaenau Gwent, where the average cost was £115,000.

3.2 Average price change by property type

Average price change by property type for Wales

Property type September 2021 September 2020 Difference
Detached £301,194 £257,516 17.0%
Semi-detached £187,935 £164,718 14.1%
Terraced £153,280 £132,127 16.0%
Flat or maisonette £129,167 £115,579 11.8%
All £196,216 £170,030 15.4%

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 July 2021 July 2020
Blaenau Gwent 19 35
Bridgend 54 97
Caerphilly 50 131
Cardiff 79 247
Carmarthenshire 61 147
Ceredigion 34 67
Conwy 42 135
Denbighshire 30 97
Flintshire 48 137
Gwynedd 58 105
Isle of Anglesey 39 49
Merthyr Tydfil 15 45
Monmouthshire 29 59
Neath Port Talbot 61 90
Newport 53 127
Pembrokeshire 39 117
Powys 41 94
Rhondda Cynon Taf 79 162
Swansea 76 170
Torfaen 28 69
Vale of Glamorgan 28 124
Wrexham 45 87
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 51.6% 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 50.8% in Wales in the year to July 2021.

4.2 Sales volumes

Sales volumes for Wales over the past 5 years

Date Sales volumes for Wales
July 2017 4,143
July 2018 4,227
July 2019 4,306
July 2020 2,391
July 2021 1,008

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 July 2021 Monthly change Annual change
New build £269,287 3.5% 19.8%
Existing resold property £180,109 -6.1% 9.1%

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 September 2021 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £168,657 2.2% 15.0%
Former owner occupier £228,652 2.7% 15.8%

7. Funding status

Cash and mortgage indicator for Wales

Funding status Average price September 2021 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £190,831 3.3% 15.6%
Mortgage £199,445 2.1% 15.3%

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 July 2021
Wales 6

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