Accredited official statistics

UK House Price Index Wales: February 2023

Published 19 April 2023

1. Headline statistics for February 2023

The average price of a property in Wales was £215,343

The annual price change of a property for Wales was 6.4%

The monthly price change of a property for Wales was -0.6%

The index figure for Wales (January 2015 = 100) was 158.2

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 March 2023 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 25 May 2023. See the calendar of release dates for more information.

2. Economic statement

Average house prices in Wales increased by 6.4% in the 12 months to February 2023. This was up from 5.7% in the 12 months to January 2023 and was faster than the average UK house price annual inflation of 5.5% in the 12 months to February 2023.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Wales decreased by 0.6% between January 2023 and February 2023, compared with a decrease of 1.2% during the same period 12 months ago. On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Wales decreased by 0.2% between January 2023 and February 2023.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for December 2021 with the provisional estimate for December 2022, the volume of transactions increased by 29.0% in Wales and by 30.5% in the UK.

In Wales, 21 local authority areas showed an increase in average house prices in the 12 months to February 2023. Carmarthenshire showed the highest annual percentage change, rising by 14.8% to £214,000 in the 12 months to February 2023. In contrast, Gwynedd showed the lowest annual percentage change, decreasing by 1.3% to £201,000 in the 12 months to February 2023.

In Wales, detached houses showed the largest annual inflation out of all property types, rising by 7.6% in the 12 months to February 2023 to £335,000. Flats and maisonettes showed the lowest annual inflation, rising by 2.4% in the 12 months to February 2023, to an average price of £135,000.

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

In Wales, average prices increased by 6.4% in the 12 months to February 2023, up from 5.7% in January 2023.

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 February 2023 February 2022 Difference
Blaenau Gwent £137,240 £122,940 11.6%
Bridgend £204,956 £189,733 8.0%
Caerphilly £184,153 £174,269 5.7%
Cardiff £266,159 £247,852 7.4%
Carmarthenshire £213,785 £186,151 14.8%
Ceredigion £260,366 £246,229 5.7%
Conwy £214,757 £207,529 3.5%
Denbighshire £205,171 £193,640 6.0%
Flintshire £219,884 £201,656 9.0%
Gwynedd £201,298 £203,961 -1.3%
Isle of Anglesey £244,381 £226,849 7.7%
Merthyr Tydfil £157,848 £140,428 12.4%
Monmouthshire £364,643 £328,340 11.1%
Neath Port Talbot £165,853 £152,036 9.1%
Newport £243,492 £221,942 9.7%
Pembrokeshire £241,813 £230,926 4.7%
Powys £251,937 £233,060 8.1%
Rhondda Cynon Taf £159,064 £146,006 8.9%
Swansea £189,418 £184,057 2.9%
Torfaen £202,470 £185,228 9.3%
Vale of Glamorgan £313,772 £290,963 7.8%
Wrexham £204,093 £194,712 4.8%
Wales £215,343 £202,482 6.4%

Average price by local authority for Wales

In February 2023, the most expensive area to purchase a property was Monmouthshire, where the average cost was £365,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was Blaenau Gwent, where the average cost was £137,000.

3.2 Average price change by property type

Average price change by property type for Wales

Property type February 2023 February 2022 Difference
Detached £334,546 £310,989 7.6%
Semi-detached £207,857 £195,882 6.1%
Terraced £167,081 £157,282 6.2%
Flat or maisonette £134,557 £131,396 2.4%
All £215,343 £202,482 6.4%

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

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for the current month with the revised volume estimate for the corresponding month in the previous year

Local authorities December 2022 December 2021
Blaenau Gwent 61 102
Bridgend 147 186
Caerphilly 181 216
Cardiff 328 513
Carmarthenshire 175 252
Ceredigion 57 84
Conwy 111 205
Denbighshire 94 93
Flintshire 120 189
Gwynedd 127 162
Isle of Anglesey 66 103
Merthyr Tydfil 70 74
Monmouthshire 72 119
Neath Port Talbot 142 163
Newport 130 197
Pembrokeshire 108 182
Powys 96 160
Rhondda Cynon Taf 231 327
Swansea 197 335
Torfaen 58 110
Vale of Glamorgan 144 185
Wrexham 102 165
Wales 2,817 4,122

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 December 2022 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for December 2021 with the provisional estimate for December 2022, volume transactions increased by 29.0% 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 10.3% in Wales in the 12 months to December 2022.

4.2 Sales volumes

Sales volumes for Wales over the past 5 years

Date Sales volumes for Wales
December 2018 4,255
December 2019 4,089
December 2020 4,929
December 2021 4,122
December 2022 2,817

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 December 2022 Monthly change Annual change
New build £331,623 0.5% 28.8%
Existing resold property £216,528 0.6% 9.2%

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 February 2023 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £184,529 -0.9% 5.9%
Former owner occupier £251,872 -0.3% 6.8%

7. Funding status

Cash and mortgage indicator for Wales

Funding status Average price February 2023 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £207,789 -0.6% 5.6%
Mortgage £219,694 -0.6% 6.7%

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 December 2022
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