Accredited official statistics

UK House Price Index Wales: September 2022

Published 16 November 2022

1. Headline statistics for September 2022

The average price of a property in Wales was £223,798

The annual price change of a property for Wales was 12.9%

The monthly price change of a property for Wales was 2.0%

The index figure for Wales (January 2015 = 100) was 164.4

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 2022 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 14 December 2022. See the calendar of release dates for more information.

2. Economic statement

Average house prices in Wales increased by 12.9% in the year to September 2022, down from 14.3% in the year to August 2022. In the year to September 2022, average house prices in Wales were increasing faster (12.9%) than average house prices in the UK (9.5%).

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis average house prices in Wales increased by 2.0% between August and September 2022, compared with an increase of 3.2% during the same period a year earlier (August 2021 and September 2021). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Wales increased by 2.8% between August 2022 and September 2022.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for July 2021 with the provisional estimate for July 2022, the volume of transactions increased by 199.9% in Wales and by 133.6% in the UK. The large increase in provisional transaction volume estimates between July 2021 and July 2022 is because of changes to land taxes in 2021. Fewer property purchases completed in July 2021 compared to normal because buyers rushed to complete property purchases in June 2021, before changes to land taxes ended in June 2021. In contrast, property transactions in July 2022 have been at normal levels, which is much higher than those reported in the provisional volume estimate for July 2021.

In Wales, all local authority areas showed an increase in average house prices in the year to September 2022. Merthyr Tydfil showed the strongest growth, rising by 20.4% to £157,000 in the year to September 2022. In contrast, Newport showed the lowest annual change, with an increase of 10.3% in the year to September 2022, with the average house price at £233,000.

In Wales, semi-detached houses showed the largest annual percentage change out of all property types, rising by 13.9% in the year to September 2022 to £218,000. Flats and maisonettes showed the lowest annual percentage change, rising by 7.0% in the year to September 2022, to an average price of £138,000.

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 12.9% in the year to September 2022, down from 14.3% in August 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 September 2022 September 2021 Difference
Blaenau Gwent £135,888 £115,258 17.9%
Bridgend £207,983 £182,610 13.9%
Caerphilly £190,609 £162,825 17.1%
Cardiff £267,573 £236,647 13.1%
Carmarthenshire £207,028 £184,098 12.5%
Ceredigion £262,535 £228,145 15.1%
Conwy £221,492 £196,508 12.7%
Denbighshire £210,387 £177,429 18.6%
Flintshire £218,539 £192,850 13.3%
Gwynedd £214,171 £191,674 11.7%
Isle of Anglesey £246,404 £219,930 12.0%
Merthyr Tydfil £157,491 £130,827 20.4%
Monmouthshire £363,949 £316,837 14.9%
Neath Port Talbot £166,871 £141,158 18.2%
Newport £233,001 £211,246 10.3%
Pembrokeshire £248,315 £212,752 16.7%
Powys £262,407 £225,511 16.4%
Rhondda Cynon Taf £160,681 £136,710 17.5%
Swansea £198,801 £173,399 14.6%
Torfaen £202,890 £178,090 13.9%
Vale of Glamorgan £315,039 £270,189 16.6%
Wrexham £208,886 £185,698 12.5%
Wales £223,798 £198,146 12.9%

Average price by local authority for Wales

In September 2022, the most expensive area to purchase a property was Monmouthshire, where the average cost was £364,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was Blaenau Gwent, where the average cost was £136,000.

3.2 Average price change by property type

Average price change by property type for Wales

Property type September 2022 September 2021 Difference
Detached £342,603 £302,103 13.4%
Semi-detached £217,876 £191,235 13.9%
Terraced £175,077 £154,975 13.0%
Flat or maisonette £138,134 £129,138 7.0%
All £223,798 £198,146 12.9%

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 July 2022 July 2021
Blaenau Gwent 65 83
Bridgend 171 184
Caerphilly 173 195
Cardiff 356 306
Carmarthenshire 153 233
Ceredigion 72 82
Conwy 137 134
Denbighshire 95 118
Flintshire 147 185
Gwynedd 114 146
Isle of Anglesey 65 84
Merthyr Tydfil 51 71
Monmouthshire 84 91
Neath Port Talbot 139 201
Newport 173 165
Pembrokeshire 135 160
Powys 102 127
Rhondda Cynon Taf 209 305
Swansea 227 263
Torfaen 88 105
Vale of Glamorgan 136 126
Wrexham 131 142
Wales 3,023 3,506

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

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for July 2021 with the provisional estimate for July 2022, volume transactions increased by 199.9% 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 6.1% in Wales in the year to July 2022.

4.2 Sales volumes

Sales volumes for Wales over the past 5 years

Date Sales volumes for Wales
July 2018 4,227
July 2019 4,306
July 2020 2,391
July 2021 3,506
July 2022 3,023

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 2022 Monthly change Annual change
New build £311,152 2.2% 21.5%
Existing resold property £213,290 2.2% 16.5%

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 2022 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £192,833 2.1% 12.9%
Former owner occupier £260,241 1.9% 13.1%

7. Funding status

Cash and mortgage indicator for Wales

Funding status Average price September 2022 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £216,481 1.9% 12.2%
Mortgage £228,057 2.0% 13.3%

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 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