Latest ONS House Price Index for December 2022 published

The latest ONS House Price Index for December 2022 has been published, covering the figures for house sales up to the end of December 2022.

1. Main points

- Average UK house prices increased by 9.8% in the 12 months to December 2022, down from 10.6% in November 2022.
- The average UK house price was £294,000 in December 2022, which is £26,000 higher than 12 months ago but a slight change from last month’s record high of £296,000.
- Average house prices increased over the 12 months to £315,000 (10.3%) in England, £222,000 in Wales (10.3%), £187,000 in Scotland (5.7%) and £175,000 in Northern Ireland (10.2%).
- Scotland’s annual house price inflation has generally been slowing since April 2022, reaching 5.7% in the 12 months to December 2022, down from 13.9% in the 12 months to April 2022.
- The East Midlands saw the highest annual percentage change in the 12 months to December 2022 (12.3%), while London saw the lowest (6.7%) of all English regions.

2. UK house prices

The latest house price data published on GOV.UK by HM Land Registry (HMLR) for December 2022 show that average house prices in the UK increased by 9.8% in the 12 months to December 2022. This was down from 10.6% in the 12 months to November 2022 (Figure 1).

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affected the supply of housing transactions for a period of time. Further information can be found in Section 7, Measuring the data.

Notes:

- Not seasonally adjusted.
- HMLR’s UK House Price Index (HPI) release on GOV.UK is available to download.

Recent annual percentage changes in house prices have been volatile because of volatility in prices in 2021. For example, the October 2022 annual percentage change was high, partly caused by a sharp fall in UK average house prices in October 2021, following changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax. This is known as a base effect, as explained in our Beware base effects article. December 2022 annual percentage change is not affected by any notable base effects.

The average UK house price rose 9.8% in the 12 months to December 2022, compared with a 10.6% rise in the 12 months to November 2022 and the recent annual peak of 14.2% in July 2022. These are preliminary, non-seasonally adjusted estimates and are subject to revision.

The provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in December 2022 was 101,920, as shown in HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) Monthly property transactions statistics. This is 1.4% higher than December 2021, but 2.6% lower than November 2022.

Notes:

- Not seasonally adjusted.
- HMLR’s UK House Price Index (HPI) release on GOV.UK is available to download.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the average UK house price decreased by 0.2% between November and December 2022, following an increase of 0.5% in the previous month.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the average UK house price decreased by 0.4% between November and December 2022, following an increase of 0.2% in the previous month.

3. House prices by country

Notes:

- Not seasonally adjusted.
- The HMLR’s UK House Price Index (HPI) release on GOV.UK is available to download.
- Northern Ireland (NI) data are only available on a quarterly basis; Northern Ireland data will be copied forward until next quarter’s data is available, which will be in the March 2023 bulletin released 24 May 2023.
- Further information on Northern Ireland HPI publications and future release schedules can be viewed.

The average house price annual percentage change slowed in England, Wales and Scotland in the 12 months to December 2022, compared with the 12 months to November 2022, and in Northern Ireland over the year to Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2022.

The average house price in Scotland increased by 5.7% over the 12 months to December 2022, down from an increase of 6.2% in the 12 months to November 2022. The average house price in Scotland was £187,000 in December 2022. Annual house price inflation in Scotland has generally been slowing since an increase of 13.9% in the 12 months to April 2022.

The average house price in Wales increased by 10.3% over the 12 months to December 2022, down from an increase of 11.0% in the 12 months to November 2022. The average house price in Wales was £222,000 in December 2022.

The average house price in England increased by 10.3% over the 12 months to December 2022, down from an increase of 11.1% in the 12 months to November 2022. The average house price in England was £315,000 in December 2022.

The average house price in Northern Ireland increased by 10.2% over the year to Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2022. Northern Ireland remains the cheapest country in the UK in which to purchase a property, with the average house price at £175,000.

4. House prices by region in England

Notes:

- Not seasonally adjusted.
- HMLR’s UK House Price Index (HPI) release on GOV.UK is available to download.

The North East continued to have the lowest average house price of all English regions, at £164,000 in December 2022.

The East Midlands was the region with the highest annual house price inflation in December 2022. Average prices in the East Midlands increased by 12.3% in the 12 months to December 2022, down from an annual percentage change of 12.8% in November 2022.

London’s average house prices remain the most expensive of any region in the UK, with an average price of £543,000 in December 2022.

London was the English region with the lowest annual house price inflation, with average prices increasing by 6.7% in the 12 months to December 2022. This was up from an annual percentage change of 6.4% in November 2022.

Notes:

- Data at the local authority level and other breakdowns can be found in the HMLR’s UK House Price Index (HPI) release on GOV.UK.

5. House Price Index data

- UK House Price Index
  Dataset | Released 15 February 2023
  Monthly house price movements, including average price by property type, sales and cash mortgage sales, as well as information on first-time buyers, new builds and former owner occupiers. Data are collected by HM Land Registry and published on GOV.UK.
- House price data: quarterly tables
  Dataset | Released 15 February 2023
  Quarterly house price data based on a sub-sample of the Regulated Mortgage Survey.
- House price data: annual tables 20 to 39
  Dataset | Released 20 July 2022
  Annual house price data based on a sub-sample of the Regulated Mortgage Survey.