UK House Price Index summary: December 2017
Published 13 February 2018
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-house-price-index-summary-december-2017/uk-house-price-index-summary-december-2017
1. Headline statistics for December 2017
the average price of a property in the UK was
£226,756
the annual price change for a property in the UK was
5.2%
the monthly price change for a property in the UK was
0.4%
the monthly index figure (January 2015 = 100) for the UK was
118.9
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.
2. Economic statement
UK house prices grew by 5.2% in the year to December 2017, up from 5.0% in the year to November 2017.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ UK Residential Market Survey for December 2017 (PDF, 633KB) reported their near term price expectations series remained negative at -6%. Having stabilized in the previous report, the new buyer enquiries edged lower with a net balance of -15% of respondents noting a decline in demand (as opposed to an increase), compared with -5% in November.
The UK Property Transaction Statistics for December 2017 (PDF, 829KB) showed that the number of seasonally adjusted transactions on residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater has decreased by 0.1% in the year to December 2017. Between November 2017 and December 2017, transactions decreased by 3.9%.
On the supply side, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported their net balance for new instructions remained negative for the 24th consecutive month. Stock levels reported by estate agents remained broadly stable; still close to historic lows. Their three month outlook for national sales expectations remained flat, whilst there is greater optimism for the twelve month outlook.
Looking at English regions, the largest annual price growth was recorded in the South West at 7.5%, up from 6.1% in the previous month. It was followed by the East and West Midlands, both growing at 6.3%. At 2.5%, London showed the slowest annual growth of all UK regions, though this is up from 2.0% in the previous month. This is the 13th consecutive month where the annual growth in London has remained below the UK average. Yorkshire and The Humber was the second slowest region, growing at 2.8%.
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 have increased by 5.2% in the year to December 2017 (up from 5.0% in the year to November 2017).
The largest annual price growth was recorded in Scotland, where house prices increased by 7.7% over the year to December 2017.
Wales saw house prices increase by 5.4% over the last 12 months.
In England, the average price increased by 5.0% over the year.
The average price in Northern Ireland increased by 4.3% over the year to quarter 4 (October to December) 2017.
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 | £243,582 | 0.4% | 5.0% |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 4 - 2017) | £130,482 | 1.0% | 4.3% |
| Scotland | £148,783 | 0.2% | 7.7% |
| Wales | £154,398 | 1.0% | 5.4% |
| East Midlands | £185,694 | 0.6% | 6.3% |
| East of England | £290,341 | 0.2% | 5.2% |
| London | £484,173 | 0.8% | 2.5% |
| North East | £130,838 | 2.7% | 3.6% |
| North West | £158,370 | 0.2% | 5.9% |
| South East | £322,269 | -0.5% | 4.2% |
| South West | £254,081 | 1.0% | 7.5% |
| West Midlands Region | £191,050 | 0.1% | 6.3% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £156,781 | 0.2% | 2.8% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
Price changes by country and government office region
Note that the Northern Ireland figure represents a three-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 | December 2017 | December 2016 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £342,541 | £325,270 | 5.3% |
| Semi-detached | £213,023 | £201,622 | 5.7% |
| Terraced | £183,085 | £174,168 | 5.1% |
| Flat or maisonette | £204,949 | £195,784 | 4.7% |
| All | £226,756 | £215,500 | 5.2% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
4. Sales volumes
Due to a period of 2 to 8 weeks between completion and registration of sales, volume figures for the most recent two months are not yet at a reliable level for reporting, so they are not included in the report.
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 | October 2017 | October 2016 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 63,603 | 70,825 | -10.2% |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 4 - 2017) | 5,501 | 6,033 | -8.8% |
| Scotland | 8,831 | 8,503 | 3.9% |
| Wales | 3,805 | 3,957 | -3.8% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
4.2 Sales volumes for the UK over the past 5 years
Sales volumes for 2013 to 2017 by country: October
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
In October 2017, the number of property transactions completed in the UK decreased by 8.5% when compared to October 2016. Compared to September 2017, the number of property transactions completed in the UK decreased by 6.6%.
The estimate for October 2017 is calculated based on around 90% of the final registered transactions. It is likely that the number of property transactions for October 2017 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions to the UK HPI data for more information.
5. Property status for UK
New build and existing resold property
The first estimate for new build is based on a small sample which can cause volatility in this initial estimate.
| Property Status | Average price October 2017 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £299,443 | 2.2% | 14.3% |
| Existing resold property | £221,588 | 0.2% | 5.1% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
Note: since 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 Improvement to the calculation of provisional estimates within 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 December 2017 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| First time buyer | £190,722 | 0.0% | 4.7% |
| Former owner occupier | £263,775 | 0.7% | 5.8% |
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 December 2017 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £215,985 | 0.3% | 5.2% |
| Mortgage | £236,636 | 0.4% | 5.4% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
8. 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.
Northern Ireland House Price Index (NI HPI)
Statistics are revised each quarter to include sales received since the last publication, namely sales of new properties which have been entered into the Northern Ireland Valuation List and late sales reported to HM Revenue & Customs. There was a large downward revision to the new dwelling prices/index in Quarter 3 2017 which was mainly due to more sales becoming available but was exacerbated by the detection of an internal process error. More information is available on page 4 of the NI HPI statistical report.
9. 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.
10. 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