Accredited official statistics

UK House Price Index Wales: May 2022

Published 20 July 2022

1. Headline statistics for May 2022

The average price of a property in Wales was £212,414

The annual price change of a property for Wales was 14.4%

The monthly price change of a property for Wales was 0.9%

The index figure for Wales (January 2015 = 100) was 156.0

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 June 2022 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 17 August 2022. See the calendar of release dates for more information.

2. Economic statement

Wales house prices increased by 14.4% in the year to May 2022, down from 15.4% in April 2022. Wales house prices were growing faster than the UK annual rate of 12.8% in the year to May 2022. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis average house prices in Wales increased by 0.9% between April and May 2022, compared with an increase of 1.8% during the same period a year earlier (April 2021 and May 2021). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Wales increased by 0.4% between April 2022 and May 2022.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for March 2021 with the provisional estimate for March 2022, the volume of transactions decreased by 26.0% in Wales. UK volume transactions decreased by 41.7% over the same period.

In Wales, all local authority areas showed an increase in average house prices in the year to May 2022. Vale of Glamorgan showed the strongest growth, rising by 24.8% to £318,000 in the year to May 2022. In contrast, Denbighshire showed the lowest annual change, with an increase of 6.9% in the year to May 2022, with the average house price at £192,000.

Of all property types, detached houses showed the largest annual growth, rising by 15.4% in the year to May 2022 to £324,000. Flats and maisonettes showed the lowest annual growth, rising by 9.8% in the year to May 2022, to an average price of £136,000.

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 14.4% in the year to May 2022, down from 15.4% in April 2022.

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 May 2022 May 2021 Difference
Blaenau Gwent £132,388 £108,406 22.1%
Bridgend £198,616 £180,415 10.1%
Caerphilly £179,459 £158,057 13.5%
Cardiff £256,271 £231,535 10.7%
Carmarthenshire £203,369 £173,952 16.9%
Ceredigion £262,751 £216,184 21.5%
Conwy £215,710 £189,375 13.9%
Denbighshire £192,258 £179,865 6.9%
Flintshire £210,114 £185,705 13.1%
Gwynedd £206,383 £183,120 12.7%
Isle of Anglesey £230,067 £204,670 12.4%
Merthyr Tydfil £145,327 £125,952 15.4%
Monmouthshire £340,326 £297,102 14.5%
Neath Port Talbot £154,556 £137,455 12.4%
Newport £225,453 £198,126 13.8%
Pembrokeshire £230,977 £198,276 16.5%
Powys £240,904 £205,300 17.3%
Rhondda Cynon Taf £148,562 £133,471 11.3%
Swansea £190,330 £166,229 14.5%
Torfaen £187,687 £166,965 12.4%
Vale of Glamorgan £317,527 £254,465 24.8%
Wrexham £197,003 £173,719 13.4%
Wales £212,414 £185,654 14.4%

Average price by local authority for Wales

In May 2022, the most expensive area to purchase a property was Monmouthshire, where the average cost was £340,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was Blaenau Gwent, where the average cost was £132,000.

3.2 Average price change by property type

Average price change by property type for Wales

Property type May 2022 May 2021 Difference
Detached £324,485 £281,178 15.4%
Semi-detached £205,508 £179,663 14.4%
Terraced £166,270 £145,038 14.6%
Flat or maisonette £135,803 £123,659 9.8%
All £212,414 £185,654 14.4%

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 March 2022 March 2021
Blaenau Gwent 65 96
Bridgend 144 245
Caerphilly 136 258
Cardiff 275 575
Carmarthenshire 169 308
Ceredigion 50 111
Conwy 122 196
Denbighshire 90 191
Flintshire 134 222
Gwynedd 107 225
Isle of Anglesey 53 143
Merthyr Tydfil 63 68
Monmouthshire 66 202
Neath Port Talbot 108 212
Newport 120 250
Pembrokeshire 107 253
Powys 98 212
Rhondda Cynon Taf 214 369
Swansea 205 331
Torfaen 64 127
Vale of Glamorgan 114 245
Wrexham 96 201
Wales 2,600 5,040

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

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for March 2021 with the provisional estimate for March 2022, volume transactions decreased by 26.0% 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 23.7% in Wales in the year to March 2022.

4.2 Sales volumes

Sales volumes for Wales over the past 5 years

Date Sales volumes for Wales
March 2018 3,800
March 2019 3,639
March 2020 3,340
March 2021 5,040
March 2022 2,600

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 March 2022 Monthly change Annual change
New build £331,159 6.3% 34.2%
Existing resold property £201,633 0.8% 11.3%

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 May 2022 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £182,992 1.1% 14.2%
Former owner occupier £247,011 0.6% 14.7%

7. Funding status

Cash and mortgage indicator for Wales

Funding status Average price May 2022 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £205,733 0.5% 14.2%
Mortgage £216,337 1.1% 14.5%

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 March 2022
Wales 1

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