National statistics

UK House Price Index summary: May 2021

Published 14 July 2021

1. Headline statistics for May 2021

The average price of a property in the UK was £254,624

The annual price change for a property in the UK was 10.0%

The monthly price change for a property in the UK was 0.9%

The monthly index figure (January 2015 = 100) for the UK was 133.5

Estimates for the most recent months are provisional and are likely to be updated as more data is incorporated into the index. Read Revisions to the UK HPI data.

Next publication of UK HPI

The June 2021 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 18 August 2021. See the calendar of release dates for more information.

2. Economic statement

UK house prices increased by 10.0% in the year to May 2021, up from 9.6% in April 2021. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.9% between April and May 2021, compared with an increase of 0.5% during the same period a year earlier (April and May 2020).

House price growth was strongest in the North West where prices increased by 15.2% in the year to May 2021. The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices increased by 5.2% in the year to May 2021.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) May 2021 UK Residential Market Survey reported that increasing demand and a decrease of new instructions continues to drive house prices higher.

The Bank of England’s Agents summary of business conditions 2021 Q2 reported ongoing strong demand for housing across most of the UK and a shortage of properties for sale, which pushed up prices.

The UK Property Transactions Statistics showed that in May 2021, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 114,940. This is 138.2% higher than a year ago. Between April and May 2021, UK transactions decreased by 3.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The Bank of England’s Money and Credit May 2021 release reported that mortgage approvals for house purchases (an indicator of future lending) in May 2021 was 87,500, which is up slightly from April 2021 but lower than a recent peak of 103,400 in November 2020.

3. Price changes

3.1 Annual price change

Annual price change for UK by country over the past 5 years

Average house prices in the UK increased by 10.0% in the year to May 2021, up from 9.6% in April 2021.

At the country level, the largest annual house price growth in the year to May 2021 was recorded in Wales, where house prices increased by 13.3%.

Scotland saw house prices increase by 12.1% in the year to May 2021.

England saw house prices increase by 9.7% in the year to May 2021.

Northern Ireland saw house prices increase by 6.0% over the year to Quarter 1 (January to March) 2021.

3.2 Average price by country and government office region

Price, monthly change and annual change by country and government office region

Country and government office region Price Monthly change Annual change
England £271,434 0.4% 9.7%
Northern Ireland (Quarter 1 - 2021) £149,178 1.1% 6.0%
Scotland £171,448 5.4% 12.1%
Wales £184,297 0.8% 13.3%
East Midlands £216,077 -0.2% 11.0%
East of England £310,200 -1.0% 6.9%
London £497,948 -0.7% 5.2%
North East £143,129 1.4% 11.8%
North West £189,245 1.4% 15.2%
South East £350,016 1.4% 9.1%
South West £277,603 -0.6% 8.4%
West Midlands Region £219,793 0.8% 9.8%
Yorkshire and The Humber £181,856 0.8% 10.2%

Price changes by country and government office region

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.9% between April and May 2021, compared with an increase of 0.5% during the same period a year earlier (April and May 2020). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.5% between April and May 2021.

Note: The Northern Ireland figure represents a 3-month change and is not comparable with the other regions and countries.

3.3 Average price by property type

Average monthly price by property type

Property type May 2021 May 2020 Difference
Detached £391,656 £351,885 11.3%
Semi-detached £242,634 £221,064 9.8%
Terraced £208,810 £187,513 11.4%
Flat or maisonette £215,731 £202,515 6.5%
All £254,624 £231,508 10.0%

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

Number of sales volumes by country

Country March 2021 March 2020
England 80,257 57,626
Northern Ireland (Quarter 1 - 2021) 2,244 1,788
Scotland 11,968 6,447
Wales 3,515 3,340

Note: The number of property transactions for March 2021 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for March 2020 with the provisional estimate for March 2021, volume transactions increased by 71.1% in England, 99.5% in Scotland and by 24.2% in Wales. Northern Ireland’s volume transactions increased by 41.8% in the year to Quarter 1 2021.

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 103.7% in England, 94.0% in Scotland, 55.6% in Wales and 75.9% in Northern Ireland in the year to March 2021.

4.2 Sales volumes for the UK over the past 5 years

Sales volumes for 2017 to 2021 by country: March

Note: The number of property transactions for March 2021 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for March 2020 with the provisional estimate for March 2021, UK volume transactions increased by 70.9% in the year to March 2021.

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, UK volume transactions increased by 100.1% in the year to March 2021.

5. Property status for UK

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

Property status Average price March 2021 Monthly change Annual change
New build £325,483 5.1% 12.2%
Existing resold property £251,199 1.5% 9.7%

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 the methods used to produce the UK HPI.

6. Buyer status for Great Britain

First time buyer and former owner occupier

Type of buyer Average price May 2021 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £213,336 0.7% 9.5%
Former owner occupier £296,872 1.1% 10.7%

7. Funding status for Great Britain

Cash and mortgage

For Great Britain only, Northern Ireland data is not available for funding status.

Funding status Average price May 2021 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £241,266 1.0% 10.0%
Mortgage £265,914 0.9% 10.1%

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. Contact

Eileen Morrison, Data Services Team Leader, HM Land Registry

Email eileen.morrison@landregistry.gov.uk

Telephone 0300 006 5288

Aimee North, Head of Housing Market Indices, Office for National Statistics

Email aimee.north@ons.gov.uk

Telephone 01633 456400

Ciara Cunningham, Statistician for the Northern Ireland HPI

Email ciara.cunningham@finance-ni.gov.uk

Telephone 028 90 336035

Anne MacDonald, Land & Property Data Team, Registers of Scotland

Email Anne.MacDonald@ros.gov.uk

Telephone 0131 378 4991