This is the fifth publication of the UK House Price Index since May 2020 following the decision to suspend the index as a result of the effect the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had on the reporting of the data.
Since August, we have been publishing the reports that were meant to be published during the period of suspension to enable the August index to be released today (Wednesday 21 October), as originally scheduled, before the disruption earlier this year. Following this report, we will be resuming the originally planned schedule. See the calendar of release dates.
The August data shows:
- on average, house prices have risen 0.7% since July 2020
- there has been an annual price rise of 2.5%, which makes the average property in the UK valued at £239,196
England
In England, the August data shows on average, house prices have risen by 0.7% since July 2020. The annual price rise of 2.8% takes the average property value to £256,109.
The regional data for England indicates that the:
- South East experienced the greatest monthly price rise, up by 1.6%
- North East and South West saw the lowest monthly price growth with 0.0%
- East Midlands experienced the greatest annual price rise, up by 3.6%
- North East saw the lowest annual price growth, with a rise of 1.0%
Price change by region for England
| Region | Average price August 2020 | Monthly change % since July 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | £202,345 | 0.6 |
| East of England | £296,411 | 0.8 |
| London | £489,159 | 0.9 |
| North East | £131,701 | 0.0 |
| North West | £173,617 | 1.4 |
| South East | £332,147 | 1.6 |
| South West | £264,886 | 0.0 |
| West Midlands | £204,886 | 0.1 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £170,025 | 0.1 |
Repossession sales by volume for England
The lowest number of repossession sales in June 2020 was in the East of England.
The highest number of repossession sales in June 2020 was in the North West.
| Repossession sales | June 2020 |
|---|---|
| East Midlands | 17 |
| East of England | 5 |
| London | 36 |
| North East | 59 |
| North West | 74 |
| South East | 40 |
| South West | 20 |
| West Midlands | 24 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 45 |
| England | 320 |
Average price by property type for England
| Property type | August 2020 | August 2019 | Difference % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £391,480 | £378,777 | 3.4 |
| Semi-detached | £243,887 | £233,762 | 4.3 |
| Terraced | £208,302 | £203,207 | 2.5 |
| Flat/maisonette | £223,900 | £224,332 | -0.2 |
| All | £256,109 | £249,221 | 2.8 |
Funding and buyer status for England
| Transaction type | Average price August 2020 | Annual price change % since August 2019 | Monthly price change % since July 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £239,678 | 2.2 | 0.6 |
| Mortgage | £264,297 | 3.0 | 0.8 |
| First-time buyer | £213,612 | 2.3 | 0.4 |
| Former owner occupier | £292,323 | 3.2 | 1.0 |
Building status for England
| Building status* | Average price June 2020 | Annual price change % since June 2019 | Monthly price change % since May 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £312,480 | 5.0 | -1.8 |
| Existing resold property | £248,776 | 2.5 | 2.3 |
*Figures for the two most recent months are not being published because there are not enough new build transactions to give a meaningful result.
London
London shows, on average, house prices have risen by 0.9% since July 2020. An annual price rise of 3.5% takes the average property value to £489,159.
Average price by property type for London
| Property type | August 2020 | August 2019 | Difference % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £938,603 | £902,797 | 4.0 |
| Semi-detached | £611,211 | £580,661 | 5.3 |
| Terraced | £523,549 | £500,513 | 4.6 |
| Flat/maisonette | £419,296 | £409,829 | 2.3 |
| All | £489,159 | £472,729 | 3.5 |
Funding and buyer status for London
| Transaction type | Average price August 2020 | Annual price change % since August 2019 | Monthly price change % since July 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £510,469 | 3.9 | 1.0 |
| Mortgage | £482,460 | 3.4 | 0.8 |
| First-time buyer | £424,469 | 2.9 | 0.8 |
| Former owner occupier | £558,183 | 4.3 | 1.0 |
Building status for London
| Building status* | Average price June 2020 | Annual price change % since June 2019 | Monthly price change % since May 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £490,534 | 3.2 | -2.4 |
| Existing resold property | £483,224 | 2.6 | 2.9 |
*Figures for the two most recent months are not being published because there are not enough new build transactions to give a meaningful result.
Wales
Wales shows, on average, house prices have risen 2.1% since July 2020. An annual price rise of 2.7% takes the average property value to £172,828.
There were 17 repossession sales for Wales in June 2020.
Average price by property type for Wales
| Property type | August 2020 | August 2019 | Difference % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £262,266 | £253,963 | 3.3 |
| Semi-detached | £168,923 | £161,994 | 4.3 |
| Terraced | £133,097 | £131,011 | 1.6 |
| Flat/maisonette | £117,138 | £117,263 | -0.1 |
| All | £172,828 | £168,215 | 2.7 |
Funding and buyer status for Wales
| Transaction type | Average price August 2020 | Annual price change % since August 2019 | Monthly price change % since July 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £168,368 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| Mortgage | £175,553 | 2.8 | 1.8 |
| First-time buyer | £148,711 | 2.5 | 1.8 |
| Former owner occupier | £201,156 | 3.1 | 2.5 |
Building status for Wales
| Building status* | Average price June 2020 | Annual price change % since June 2019 | Monthly price change % since May 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £222,791 | 5.1 | -1.1 |
| Existing resold property | £164,848 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
*Figures for the two most recent months are not being published because there are not enough new build transactions to give a meaningful result.
The UK HPI is based on completed housing transactions. Typically, a house purchase can take 6 to 8 weeks to reach completion. The price data feeding into the August 2020 UK HPI will mainly reflect those agreements that occurred after the government measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus took hold.
UK house prices
UK house prices increased by 2.5% in the year to August 2020, up from 2.1% in July 2020. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.7% between July 2020 and August 2020, compared with a rise of 0.3% during the same period a year earlier (July 2019 and August 2019).
The UK Property Transactions Statistics showed that in August 2020, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 81,280. This is 16.3% lower than a year ago. Between July 2020 and August 2020, UK transactions increased by 15.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
House price growth was strongest in England where prices increased by 2.8% in the year to August 2020. The highest annual growth within the English regions was in the East Midlands where average house prices grew by 3.6%. The lowest annual growth was in the North East, where prices increased by 0.2% in the year to August 2020.
See the economic statement.
Background
The UK House Price Index (HPI) is published on the second or third Wednesday of each month with Northern Ireland figures updated quarterly. The September 2020 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 18 October 2020. See calendar of release dates.
We have made some changes to improve the accuracy of the UK HPI. We are not publishing average price and percentage change for new builds and existing resold property as done previously because there are not currently enough new build transactions to provide a reliable result. This means that in this month’s UK HPI reports, new builds and existing resold property are reported in line with the sales volumes currently available.
The UK HPI revision period has been extended to 13 months, following a review of the revision policy (see calculating the UK HPI section 4.4). This ensures the data used is more comprehensive.
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.
Revision tables have been introduced for England and Wales within the downloadable data. Tables will be available in csv format. See about the UK HPI f
