By The October data shows:
- on average, house prices have risen 0.7% since September 2020
- there has been an annual price rise of 5.4% which makes the average property in the UK valued at £245,443.
England
In England the October data shows, on average, house prices have risen by 0.7% since September 2020. The annual price rise of 5.4% takes the average property value to £262,175.
The regional data for England indicates that:
- Yorkshire and the Humber experienced the greatest monthly price rise, up by 2.4%
- London saw the lowest monthly price growth, with a fall of -1.2%
- the North West experienced the greatest annual price rise, up by 6.6%
- the East of England saw the lowest annual price growth, with a rise of 3.4%
Price change by region for England
| Region | Average price October 2020 | Annual change % since October 2019 | Monthly change % since September 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | £207,605 | 6.6 | 1.9 |
| East of England | £300,744 | 3.4 | -0.9 |
| London | £490,936 | 3.9 | -1.2 |
| North East | £136,281 | 5.4 | -0.3 |
| North West | £177,796 | 6.6 | 1.2 |
| South East | £337,412 | 4.7 | 0.4 |
| South West | £274,319 | 6.1 | 0.4 |
| West Midlands | £210,637 | 5.3 | 0.9 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £177,115 | 6.6 | 2.4 |
Repossession sales by volume for England
The lowest number of repossession sales in August 2020 was in the East of England.
The highest number of repossession sales in August 2020 was in the North East.
| Repossession sales | August 2020 |
|---|---|
| East Midlands | 19 |
| East of England | 11 |
| London | 43 |
| North East | 87 |
| North West | 74 |
| South East | 31 |
| South West | 18 |
| West Midlands | 28 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 51 |
| England | 362 |
Average price by property type for England
| Property type | October 2020 | October 2019 | Difference % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £403,334 | £377,127 | 6.9 |
| Semi-detached | £247,799 | £234,973 | 5.5 |
| Terraced | £213,894 | £201,495 | 6.2 |
| Flat/maisonette | £228,857 | £224,898 | 1.8 |
| All | £262,175 | £248,842 | 5.4 |
Funding and buyer status for England
| Transaction type | Average price October 2020 | Annual price change % since October 2019 | Monthly price change % since September 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £246,535 | 5.3 | 0.7 |
| Mortgage | £270,055 | 5.4 | 0.5 |
| First-time buyer | £218,613 | 4.8 | 0.6 |
| Former owner occupier | £299,329 | 5.9 | 0.6 |
Building status for England
| Building status* | Average price August 2020 | Annual price change % since August 2019 | Monthly price change % since July 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £315,469 | 3.7 | -0.5 |
| Existing resold property | £253,760 | 3.3 | 1.5 |
*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 fell by 1.2% since September 2020. An annual price rise of 3.9% takes the average property value to £490,936.
Average price by property type for London
| Property type | October 2020 | October 2019 | Difference % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £963,565 | £901,258 | 6.9 |
| Semi-detached | £615,937 | £584,448 | 5.4 |
| Terraced | £527,239 | £495,293 | 6.4 |
| Flat/maisonette | £418,740 | £411,266 | 1.8 |
| All | £490,936 | £472,668 | 3.9 |
Funding and buyer status for London
| Transaction type | Average price October 2020 | Annual price change % since October 2019 | Monthly price change % since September 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £506,483 | 2.9 | -1.9 |
| Mortgage | £485,542 | 4.1 | -1.0 |
| First-time buyer | £426,150 | 3.2 | -1.2 |
| Former owner occupier | £559,947 | 4.8 | -1.1 |
Building status for London
| Building status* | Average price August 2020 | Annual price change % since August 2019 | Monthly price change % since July 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £497,859 | 3.6 | -0.4 |
| Existing resold property | £493,282 | 4.4 | 1.9 |
*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 2.5%since September 2020. An annual price rise of 5.8% takes the average property value to £175,998.
There were 23 repossession sales for Wales in August 2020.
Average price by property type for Wales
| Property type | October 2020 | October 2019 | Difference % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £268,468 | £250,210 | 7.3 |
| Semi-detached | £170,556 | £161,120 | 5.9 |
| Terraced | £136,296 | £129,004 | 5.7 |
| Flat/maisonette | £117,978 | £116,628 | 1.2 |
| All | £175,998 | £166,281 | 5.8 |
Funding and buyer status for Wales
| Transaction type | Average price October 2020 | Annual price change % since October 2019 | Monthly price change % since September 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £170,982 | 5.5 | 2.6 |
| Mortgage | £179,001 | 6.0 | 2.5 |
| First-time buyer | £151,468 | 5.4 | 2.4 |
| Former owner occupier | £204,799 | 6.3 | 2.6 |
Building status for Wales
| Building status* | Average price August 2020 | Annual price change % since August 2019 | Monthly price change % since July 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £227,488 | 3.7 | -0.1 |
| Existing resold property | £170,509 | 3.2 | 2.6 |
*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 October 2020 UK HPI will mainly reflect those agreements that occurred after the government measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) took hold.
UK House Prices
UK house prices increased by 5.4% in the year to October 2020, up from 4.3% in September 2020. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.7% between September and October 2020, compared with a fall of 0.3% during the same period a year earlier (September and October 2019).
The UK Property Transactions Statistics showed that in October 2020, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 105,630. This is 8.1% higher than a year ago. Between September and October 2020, UK transactions increased by 9.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
House price growth was strongest in Scotland where prices increased by 6% in the year to October 2020, up from 4% in the year to September 2020. The lowest annual growth was in the East of England, where prices increased by 3.4% in the year to October 2020, down from 4% in the year to September 2020.
See the economic statement.
Chris Sykes, mortgage broker at Private Finance comments:
“These latest figures from the ONS show that UK average house prices increased by 5.4% over the year to October 2020, up from 4.3% in September, reaching a record high of £245,000 – the highest annual growth rate the UK has seen since October 2016.”
“This highlights the extent to which the housing market has dramatically contradicted and outperformed expectations in 2020. These figures come after other recent statistics, also from the ONS (14th Dec 2020), highlight that redundancies have reached record highs of 370,000 in the third quarter of the year and the unemployment rate sits at 4.9% – more evidence that the unique circumstances of the year have led to the housing market being detached from the economic reality.”
“Moreover, it remains important to remember that as with any economic shock, existing inequalities are amplified, and the housing and mortgage market is indicative of this amplification, with borrowers with large amounts of cash for a deposit or large amounts of equity benefitting from historically low interest rates as well as saving money through the SDLT holiday – to those who have, more shall be given”
“This growth in house prices has led to renewed confidence in the housing market and lenders are now returning to offering riskier propositions, including lending at higher LTVs, a section of the market that was effectively extinct until quite recently.”
“These figures clearly indicate a period of unprecedented levels of demand and sales, however, the question remains as to for how long the market can keep flying in the face of the economic facts and will it be able to continue this period of growth or at least stabilise, or will we now see decline in prices in the coming months? With Brexit, further lockdowns, and the complexity of the vaccine rollout it would appear that there are still some turbulent times for the market to navigate.”
1 & 2 Source: Office for National Statistics, UK House Price Index: December 2020,
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