By Chris Williamson-
UK average house prices have outstripped prices around the same time last year, according to details published by the HM Land Registry. increased by 12.8% over the year to May 2022, up from 11.9% in April 2022, according to the latest UK price index.
The average UK house price was £283,000 in May 2022, £32,000 higher than this time last year.
Average house prices increased over the year in England to £302,000 (13.1%), in Wales to £212,000 (14.4%), in Scotland to £188,000 (11.2%) and in Northern Ireland to £165,000 (10.4%).
The price increases reveal that London continues to be the region with the lowest annual growth at 8.2%. The latest house price data published on GOV.UK by HM Land Registry (HMLR) for May 2022 show that average house prices in the UK increased by 12.8% in the year to May 2022, up from 11.9% in the year to April 2022.
The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on both the number and supply of housing transactions, leads to larger revisions to the published UK House Price Index (HPI) estimates than usual.
The Uk Land registry said there may be increased volatility in this month’s estimates, particularly at the lower geographical levels where transaction volumes are smaller. We are looking at options to improve this, including working with data suppliers.
In particular, HMLR has been increasing the level of automation in the way they process applications. As a result of this process, initial data numbers may be lower than pre-coronavirus pandemic transaction volumes; however, in the medium to long term, this will lead to higher volumes being processed.
The total number of processed transactions feeding into this month’s release (including those from previous months, which are incorporated in line with our revisions policy) has increased compared with the numbers seen throughout the coronavirus pandemic period.
While this indicates an improvement in the quality of the UK HPI estimates going forward, may also result in revisions to previous months that are higher than usual, as more transactions are now available in our calculations. Further information on this can be found in Section 7: Measuring the data.
Figure 1: May 2022 saw UK house price growth increase to 12.8%
Annual house price rates of change for all dwellings, UK, January 2006 to May 2022
2022 May2020 May2018 May2016 May2014 May2012 May2010 May2008 May2006 May-20-15-10-505101512-month percentage change
The latter half of 2020 saw the UK’s average house price growth accelerating. This trend continued into 2021, and house price growth has remained strong since the start of 2022; the UK average house price for May 2022 was £283,000, up from £280,000 in April 2022.
On 8 July 2020, changes to the tax paid on property purchases were announced with immediate effect in England and Northern Ireland. Similar changes came into effect slightly later in Scotland and Wales (15 July and 27 July, respectively).
In England and Northern Ireland, properties increased up to the value of £500,000 would incur no tax, while the thresholds for Scotland and Wales were £250,000. These changes in the tax paid on housing transactions may have allowed sellers to request higher prices as the buyers’ overall costs were reduced.
On 3 March 2021, an extension to the Stamp Duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland was announced. This meant that the tax holiday was extended until 30 June 2021, after which the threshold decreased to £250,000 until 30 September 2021.
The Stamp Duty thresholds have reverted to what they were before 8 July 2020. The tax holiday for Scotland ended on 31 March 2021. The tax holiday for Wales ended on 30 June 2021.
As the tax breaks were originally due to conclude at the end of March 2021, it is likely that March’s average house prices were slightly inflated as buyers rushed to ensure their house purchases were scheduled to complete ahead of this deadline. This effect was then further exaggerated in June 2021 in line with the extension to the holiday on taxes paid on property purchases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
This could be seen again in September 2021 when the last of the tax holidays came to an end in England. An increase in prices since then has resulted in a record average house price level in the UK of £283,000 in May 2022.
This is the seventh consecutive month that average UK house prices have increased. While the annual growth rate of 12.8% in May 2022 is the highest since June 2021, it is worth noting that this may be somewhat attributable to the slow growth experienced in early 2021, as well as the strength seen across recent months.
The provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in May 2022 was 109,210, as shown in the Monthly property transactions statistics published by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). This is 5.1% lower than May 2021 and 1.3% higher than April 2022.
| Region | Average price May 2022 | Annual change % since May 2021 | Monthly change % since April 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | £244,060 | 15.2 | 1.9 |
| East of England | £353,574 | 14.8 | 2.6 |
| London | £526,183 | 8.2 | 0.2 |
| North East | £153,592 | 9.7 | -0.1 |
| North West | £205,783 | 11.5 | -0.2 |
| South East | £388,531 | 13.5 | 1.4 |
| South West | £323,418 | 16.9 | 1.0 |
| West Midlands | £247,162 | 14.0 | 2.2 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £204,835 | 12.6 | 2.1 |
Repossession sales by volume for England
The lowest number of repossession sales in March 2022 was in the East of England and West Midlands region.
The highest number of repossession sales in March 2022 was in the North West.
| Repossession sales | March 2022 |
|---|---|
| East Midlands | 2 |
| East of England | 1 |
| London | 6 |
| North East | 10 |
| North West | 11 |
| South East | 7 |
| South West | 2 |
| West Midlands | 1 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 6 |
| England | 46 |
Average price by property type for England
| Property type | May 2022 | May 2021 | Difference % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £474,802 | £411,963 | 15.3 |
| Semi-detached | £288,881 | £253,768 | 13.8 |
| Terraced | £247,961 | £219,133 | 13.2 |
| Flat/maisonette | £248,105 | £229,010 | 8.3 |
| All | £302,278 | £267,295 | 13.1 |
Funding and buyer status for England
| Transaction type | Average price May 2022 | Annual price change % since May 2021 | Monthly price change since April 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £283,166 | 12.8 | 1.2 |
| Mortgage | £311,806 | 13.2 | 1.3 |
| First-time buyer | £251,183 | 12.6 | 1.4 |
| Former owner occupier | £346,356 | 13.6 | 1.2 |
Building status for England
| Building status | Average price May 2022 | Annual price change % since May 2021 | Monthly price change % since April 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £434,515 | 27.8 | 5.4 |
| Existing resold property | £288,329 | 8.4 | 0.4 |
London
London shows, on average, house prices have risen by 0.2% since April 2022. An annual price rise of 8.2% takes the average property value to £526,183.
Average price by property type for London
| Property type | May 2022 | May 2021 | Difference % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,082,097 | £973,866 | 11.1 |
| Semi-detached | £688,058 | £619,856 | 11 |
| Terraced | £579,590 | £525,642 | 10.3 |
| Flat/maisonette | £433,071 | £410,330 | 5.5 |
| All | £526,183 | £486,387 | 8.2 |
Funding and buyer status for London
| Transaction type | Average price May 2022 | Annual price change % since May 2021 | Monthly price change % since April 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £536,015 | 6.8 | -1.5 |
| Mortgage | £521,706 | 8.5 | 0.5 |
| First-time buyer | £453,778 | 7.7 | 0.4 |
| Former owner occupier | £605,271 | 8.8 | 0.0 |
Building status for London
| Building status | Average price May 2022 | Annual price change % since May 2022 | Monthly price change % since May 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £614,010 | 18.7 | 4.0 |
| Existing resold property | £518,972 | 4.0 | -0.2 |
Wales
Wales shows, on average, house prices have risen by 0.9% since April 2022. An annual price rise of 14.4% takes the average property value to £212,414.
There was 1 repossession sale for Wales in March 2022.
Average price 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/maisonette | £135,803 | £123,659 | 9.8 |
| All | £212,414 | £185,654 | 14.4 |
Funding and buyer status for Wales
| Transaction type | Average price May 2022 | Annual price change % since May 2021 | Monthly price change % since April 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £205,733 | 14.2 | 0.5 |
| Mortgage | £216,337 | 14.5 | 1.1 |
| First-time buyer | £182,992 | 14.2 | 1.1 |
| Former owner occupier | £247,011 | 14.7 | 0.6 |
Building status for Wales
| Building status | Average price May 2022 | Annual price change % since May 2021 | Monthly price change % since April 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £331,159 | 34.2 | 6.3 |
| Existing resold property | £201,633 | 11.3 | 0.8 |
UK house prices
UK house prices increased by 12.8% in the year to May 2022, up from 11.9% in April 2022. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 1.2% between April and May 2022, up from an increase of 0.4% during the same period a year earlier (April and May 2021).
The UK Property Transactions Statistics showed that in May 2022, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 109,210. This is 5.1% lower than a year ago (May 2021). Between April and May 2022, UK transactions increased by 1.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
House price growth was strongest in the South West where prices increased by 16.9% in the year to May 2022. The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices increased by 8.2% in the year to May 2022.
The average UK house price was £283,000 in May 2022; this is £32,000 higher than in May 2021.
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 1.2% between April and May 2022 compared with an increase of 0.4% during the same period a year earlier (April and May 2021).
On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.9% between April and May 2022, following an increase of 0.4% in the previous month.
Wales
The average house price in Wales increased by 14.4% over the year to May 2022, down from an increase of 15.4% in the year to April 2022. The average house price in Wales was at a record level of £212,000 in May 2022.
The average house price in England increased by 13.1% over the year to May 2022, up from an increase of 11.6% in the year to April 2022. The average house price in England was at a record level of £302,000 in May 2022.
The average house price in Scotland increased by 11.2% over the year to May 2022, down from an increase of 14.7% in the year to April 2022. The average house price in Scotland was at a record level of £188,000 in May 2022.
The average house price in Northern Ireland increased by 10.4% over the year to Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2022. Northern Ireland remains the cheapest UK country in which to purchase a property, with the average house price at £165,000.