UK House Price Index summary: December 2021
Published 16 February 2022
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-house-price-index-for-december-2021/uk-house-price-index-summary-december-2021
1. Headline statistics for December 2021
The average price of a property in the UK was £274,712
The annual price change for a property in the UK was 10.8%
The monthly price change for a property in the UK was 0.8%
The monthly index figure (January 2015 = 100) for the UK 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 Revisions to the UK HPI data.
Next publication of UK HPI
The January 2022 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 23 March 2022. See the calendar of release dates for more information.
2. Economic statement
UK house prices increased by 10.8% in the year to December 2021, up from 10.7% in November 2021. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.8% between November and December 2021, the same increase as during the same period a year earlier (November and December 2020).
House price growth was strongest in Wales where prices increased by 13.0% in the year to December 2021. The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices increased by 5.5% in the year to December 2021.
The average house price in Northern Ireland increased by 10.7% over the year to Quarter 3 (July to September) 2021. Northern Ireland remains the cheapest UK country to purchase a property in, with the average house price at £159,000. It should be noted that data for Quarter 4 (October to December) are not yet available and, therefore, house prices for these months have been carried forward from Quarter 3 until the latest figures can be incorporated.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) January 2022 UK Residential Market Survey reported that new buyer enquiries are gaining momentum slightly at the start of the year, as buyer demand also rises over the month. Sales have steadied in January but are expected to pick-up over the coming three months.
The Bank of England’s Agents summary of business conditions 2021 Q4 reported ongoing strong demand for housing and a shortage of properties for sale, which pushed up prices.
The UK Property Transactions Statistics showed that in December 2021, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 100,110. This is 20.0% lower than a year ago. Between November and December 2021, UK transactions increased by 7.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis, following a large increase in the month prior.
The Bank of England’s Money and Credit December 2021 release reported that mortgage approvals for house purchases (an indicator of future lending) increased slightly to 71,000 in December 2021, up from 67,000 in November 2021.
3. Price changes
3.1 Annual price change
Annual price change for UK by country over the past 5 years
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Average house prices in the UK increased by 10.8% in the year to December 2021, up from 10.7% in November 2021. At the country level, the largest annual house price growth in the year to December 2021 was recorded in Wales, where house prices increased by 13.0%.
Scotland saw house prices increase by 11.2% in the year to December 2021.
England saw house prices increase by 10.7% in the year to December 2021.
Northern Ireland saw house prices increase by 10.7% over the year to Quarter 3 (July to September) 2021.
Northern Ireland data are only available on a quarterly basis. Northern Ireland data are copied forward until the next quarter’s data are available. While an update to Northern Ireland data for Quarter 4 (October to December) was due to be released within this publication, data are not yet available. House price data for Quarter 3 (July to September) will be carried forward until the latest figures can be incorporated.
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 | £293,339 | 1.1% | 10.7% |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 4 - 2021) | £159,109 | 3.0% | 10.7% |
| Scotland | £180,485 | -1.8% | 11.2% |
| Wales | £204,835 | 2.0% | 13.0% |
| East Midlands | £235,004 | 1.1% | 12.1% |
| East of England | £339,502 | 0.4% | 11.7% |
| London | £521,146 | 0.2% | 5.5% |
| North East | £147,214 | -1.5% | 5.9% |
| North West | £200,172 | 0.6% | 10.2% |
| South East | £380,237 | 1.6% | 12.6% |
| South West | £314,037 | 1.9% | 13.6% |
| West Midlands Region | £238,238 | 2.6% | 11.5% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £196,877 | 1.8% | 9.8% |
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Price changes by country and government office region
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.8% between November and December 2021, unchanged from the same period a year earlier (November and December 2020). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.9% between November and December 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 | December 2021 | December 2020 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £437,452 | £379,432 | 15.3% |
| Semi-detached | £262,751 | £236,485 | 11.1% |
| Terraced | £223,068 | £203,387 | 9.7% |
| Flat or maisonette | £223,489 | £211,424 | 5.7% |
| All | £274,712 | £247,984 | 10.8% |
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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 | October 2021 | October 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| England | 22,642 | 77,907 |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 4 - 2021) | 2,510 | 2,806 |
| Scotland | 10,228 | 12,974 |
| Wales | 2,017 | 4,200 |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
Note: The ‘Difference’ column has been removed from this table as the latest month’s data are not yet complete.
Note: The number of property transactions for October 2021 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.
Comparing the provisional volume estimate for October 2020 with the provisional estimate for October 2021, volume transactions decreased by 66.0% in England, decreased by 16.2% in Scotland and decreased by 45.7% 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 across all countries in the UK in the year to October 2021, by 32.7% in England, by 19.1% in Scotland, by 0.2% in Wales and by 25.3% in Northern Ireland.
4.2 Sales volumes for the UK over the past 5 years
Sales volumes for 2017 to 2021 by country: October
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Note: The number of property transactions for October 2021 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.
Comparing the provisional volume estimate for October 2020 with the provisional estimate for October 2021, UK volume transactions decreased by 56.0% in the year to October 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 decreased by 29.6% in the year to October 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 October 2021 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £358,543 | 2.0% | 22.1% |
| Existing resold property | £260,629 | -1.7% | 8.2% |
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 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 December 2021 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| First time buyer | £228,627 | 0.9% | 9.9% |
| Former owner occupier | £322,547 | 0.8% | 11.8% |
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 2021 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £260,457 | 0.7% | 10.2% |
| Mortgage | £286,918 | 0.9% | 11.1% |
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8. Housing transaction distributions
Between July and September 2021, there were 190,530 property sales.
The most popular price range for:
- England was £175,000 to £199,999 – 13,498 properties were purchased
- Scotland was £125,000 to £149,999 – 3,179 properties were purchased
- Wales was £125,000 to £149,999 – 1,350 properties were purchased
The charts below show the distribution of housing transactions for Q3 (July to September) 2021 for countries of the UK. It should be noted that data for Q3 for Northern Ireland are not yet available. 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 | 13 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 580 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 2,920 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 6,264 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 8,518 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 11,603 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 13,357 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 13,498 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 12,075 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 12,548 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 10,578 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 8,637 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 6,706 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 5,934 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 4,884 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 4,282 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 3,248 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 2,942 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 2,504 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 2,162 |
| £500,000 to £524,999 | 1,545 |
| £525,000 to £549,999 | 1,583 |
| £550,000 to £574,999 | 1,366 |
| £575,000 to £599,999 | 1,173 |
| £600,000 to £624,999 | 1,078 |
| £625,000 to £649,999 | 923 |
| £650,000 to £674,999 | 911 |
| £675,000 to £699,999 | 778 |
| £700,000 to £724,999 | 698 |
| £725,000 to £749,999 | 581 |
| £750,000 to £774,999 | 557 |
| £775,000 to £799,999 | 519 |
| £800,000 to £824,999 | 453 |
| £825,000 to £849,999 | 398 |
| £850,000 to £874,999 | 416 |
| £875,000 to £899,999 | 316 |
| £900,000 to £924,999 | 298 |
| £925,000 to £949,999 | 248 |
| £950,000 to £974,999 | 248 |
| £975,000 to £999,999 | 251 |
| £1,000,000 to £1,249,999 | 1,319 |
| £1,250,000 to £1,499,999 | 863 |
| £1,500,000 to £1,749,999 | 514 |
| £1,750,000 to £1,999,999 | 289 |
| £2,000,000 to £4,999,999 | 729 |
| £5,000,000 to £9,999,999 | 97 |
| Greater than £10,000,000 | 23 |
Scotland housing transactions
| Price band | Housing transactions |
|---|---|
| Less than £25,000 | 146 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 799 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 2,026 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 3,110 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 3,021 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 3,179 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 2,896 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 2,475 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 2,097 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 1,816 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 1,609 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 1,328 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 1,068 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 782 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 649 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 543 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 434 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 353 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 281 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 235 |
| £500,000 to £524,999 | 166 |
| £525,000 to £549,999 | 145 |
| £550,000 to £574,999 | 127 |
| £575,000 to £599,999 | 106 |
| £600,000 to £624,999 | 94 |
| £625,000 to £649,999 | 73 |
| £650,000 to £674,999 | 94 |
| £675,000 to £699,999 | 48 |
| £700,000 to £724,999 | 43 |
| £725,000 to £749,999 | 56 |
| £750,000 to £774,999 | 32 |
| £775,000 to £799,999 | 34 |
| £800,000 to £824,999 | 27 |
| £825,000 to £849,999 | 19 |
| £850,000 to £874,999 | 24 |
| £875,000 to £899,999 | 18 |
| £900,000 to £924,999 | 16 |
| £925,000 to £949,999 | 11 |
| £950,000 to £974,999 | 14 |
| £975,000 to £999,999 | 14 |
| £1,000,000 to £1,249,999 | 62 |
| £1,250,000 to £1,499,999 | 37 |
| £1,500,000 to £1,749,999 | 21 |
| £1,750,000 to £1,999,999 | 12 |
| £2,000,000 to £4,999,999 | 8 |
| £5,000,000 to £9,999,999 | 0 |
| Greater than £10,000,000 | 0 |
Wales housing transactions
| Price band | Housing transactions |
|---|---|
| Less than £25,000 | 0 |
| £25,000 to £49,999 | 38 |
| £50,000 to £74,999 | 279 |
| £75,000 to £99,999 | 745 |
| £100,000 to £124,999 | 1,035 |
| £125,000 to £149,999 | 1,350 |
| £150,000 to £174,999 | 1,129 |
| £175,000 to £199,999 | 973 |
| £200,000 to £224,999 | 590 |
| £225,000 to £249,999 | 551 |
| £250,000 to £274,999 | 389 |
| £275,000 to £299,999 | 383 |
| £300,000 to £324,999 | 260 |
| £325,000 to £349,999 | 211 |
| £350,000 to £374,999 | 186 |
| £375,000 to £399,999 | 143 |
| £400,000 to £424,999 | 105 |
| £425,000 to £449,999 | 96 |
| £450,000 to £474,999 | 79 |
| £475,000 to £499,999 | 86 |
| £500,000 to £524,999 | 44 |
| £525,000 to £549,999 | 41 |
| £550,000 to £574,999 | 35 |
| £575,000 to £599,999 | 45 |
| £600,000 to £624,999 | 24 |
| £625,000 to £649,999 | 26 |
| £650,000 to £674,999 | 9 |
| £675,000 to £699,999 | 17 |
| £700,000 to £724,999 | 14 |
| £725,000 to £749,999 | 15 |
| £750,000 to £774,999 | 12 |
| £775,000 to £799,999 | 2 |
| £800,000 to £824,999 | 3 |
| £825,000 to £849,999 | 3 |
| £850,000 to £874,999 | 1 |
| £875,000 to £899,999 | 3 |
| £900,000 to £924,999 | 4 |
| £925,000 to £949,999 | 6 |
| £950,000 to £974,999 | 3 |
| £975,000 to £999,999 | 2 |
| £1,000,000 to £1,249,999 | 6 |
| £1,250,000 to £1,499,999 | 8 |
| £1,500,000 to £1,749,999 | 2 |
| £1,750,000 to £1,999,999 | 1 |
| £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