Published 20 December 2018
Last updated 16 February 2022 + show all updates

Since March 2020 all those involved in the property market have been impacted by the effects of coronavirus (COVID-19); HM Land Registry is no different and as a result, this release of the UK House Price index is not as complete as it could be.

The data is accurate. However, this release may be subject to increased revisions as we add more data over the coming months. See Reducing delays for more information.

England

In England the December data shows, on average, house prices have risen by 1.1% since November 2021. The annual price rise of 10.7% takes the average property value to £293,339.

The regional data for England indicates that:

• the West Midlands experienced the greatest monthly rise with a movement of 2.6%
• the North East saw the most significant monthly price fall, with a movement of -1.5%
• the South West experienced the greatest annual price rise, up by 13.6%
• London saw the lowest annual price growth, with a rise of 5.5%

Price change by region for England

Repossession sales by volume for England

The lowest number of repossession sales in October 2021 was in the East of England.

The highest number of repossession sales in October 2021 was in the North West.

Average price by property type for England

Funding and buyer status for England

Building status for England

*Figures for the 2 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 0.2% since November 2021. An annual price rise of 5.5% takes the average property value to £521,146.

Average price by property type for London

Funding and buyer status for London

Building status for London

*Figures for the 2 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 fallen by 2% since November 2021. An annual price rise of 13% takes the average property value to £204,835.

There were 2 repossession sales for Wales in October 2021.

Average price by property type for Wales

Funding and buyer status for Wales

Building status for Wales

*Figures for the 2 most recent months are not being published because there are not enough new build transactions to give a meaningful result.

UK house prices

UK house prices increased by 10.8% in the year to December 2021, up from 10.7% in November 2021. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.8% between November and December 2021, the same increase as during the same period a year earlier (November and December 2020).

The UK Property Transactions Statistics showed that in December 2021, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 100,110. This is 20% lower than a year ago. Between November and December 2021, UK transactions increased by 7.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis, following a large increase in the month prior.

House price growth was strongest in Wales, where prices increased by 13% in the year to December 2021. The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices increased by 5.5% in the year to December 2021.

See the economic statement.

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 November 2021 UK HPI will mainly reflect those agreements that occurred after the government measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 took hold.

Reducing delays

Our absolute top priority is to reduce any delays, both those caused by the pandemic and those existing beforehand. To deliver our services while promoting public health, we are:

• adjusting our resources where necessary
• introducing automation where practical
• recruiting and training more than 500 new staff

Background

1. We publish the UK House Price Index (HPI) on the second or third Wednesday of each month with Northern Ireland figures updated quarterly. We will publish the January 2022 UK HPI at 9:30am on Wednesday 23 March 2022. See calendar of release dates.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Sales volume data is available by property status (new build and existing property) and funding status (cash and mortgage) in our downloadable data tables. Transactions that require us to create a new register, such as new builds, are more complex and require more time to process. Read revisions to the UK HPI data.

5. Revision tables are available for England and Wales within the downloadable data in CSV format. See about the UK HPI for more information.

6. HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, Land & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and the Valuation Office Agency supply data for the UK HPI.

7. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Land & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency calculate the UK HPI. It applies a hedonic regression model that uses the various sources of data on property price, including HM Land Registry’s Price Paid Dataset, and attributes to produce estimates of the change in house prices each month. Find out more about the methodology used from the ONS and Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency.

8. We take the UK Property Transaction statistics from the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) monthly estimates of the number of residential and non-residential property transactions in the UK and its constituent countries. The number of property transactions in the UK is highly seasonal, with more activity in the summer months and less in the winter. This regular annual pattern can sometimes mask the underlying movements and trends in the data series. HMRC presents the UK aggregate transaction figures on a seasonally adjusted basis. We make adjustments for both the time of year and the construction of the calendar, including corrections for the position of Easter and the number of trading days in a particular month.

9. UK HPI seasonally adjusted series are calculated at regional and national levels only. See data tables.

10. The first estimate for new build average price (April 2016 report) was based on a small sample which can cause volatility. A three-month moving average has been applied to the latest estimate to remove some of this volatility.

11. The UK HPI reflects the final transaction price for sales of residential property. Using the geometric mean, it covers purchases at market value for owner-occupation and buy-to-let, excluding those purchases not at market value (such as re-mortgages), where the ‘price’ represents a valuation.

12. HM Land Registry provides information on residential property transactions for England and Wales, collected as part of the official registration process for properties that are sold for full market value.

13. The HM Land Registry dataset contains the sale price of the property, the date when the sale was completed, full address details, the type of property (detached, semi-detached, terraced or flat), if it is a newly built property or an established residential building and a variable to indicate if the property has been purchased as a financed transaction (using a mortgage) or as a non-financed transaction (cash purchase).

14. Repossession sales data is based on the number of transactions lodged with HM Land Registry by lenders exercising their power of sale.

15. For England, we show repossession sales volume recorded by government office region. For Wales, we provide repossession sales volume for the number of repossession sales.

16. Repossession sales data is available from April 2016 in CSV format. Find out more information about repossession sales.

17. We publish CSV files of the raw and cleansed aggregated data every month for England, Scotland and Wales. We publish Northern Ireland data on a quarterly basis. They are available for free use and re-use under the Open Government Licence.

18. HM Land Registry’s mission is to guarantee and protect property rights in England and Wales.

19. HM Land Registry is a government department created in 1862. Its ambition is to become the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data.

20. HM Land Registry safeguards land and property ownership worth in excess of £7 trillion, including over £1 trillion of mortgages. The Land Register contains more than 26 million titles showing evidence of ownership for some 87% of the land mass of England and Wales.

21. For further information about HM Land Registry visit www.gov.uk/land-registry.

22. Follow us on Twitter, our blog, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Haroon Karim (35) appeared at Nottingham Magistrates Court on 2 February 2022 where he pleaded guilty to failing to preserve company accounting records before District Judge Grace Leong.

The claims management boss was fined more than £25,000, as well as being disqualified from running companies for 2 years, to run concurrently with the 7-year ban Haroon Karim received in 2018.

During proceedings, the court heard that Bramcote-based Haroon Karim ran several claims management companies, assisting people with personal injury claims following road traffic collisions.

One of the companies based in Nottingham, ACA Accident Claims Assistant Ltd, entered into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation in August 2016, which triggered an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Investigators, however, were frustrated in their enquiries as Haroon Karim failed to deliver the company’s records despite repeated requests.

The claims management boss went on to tell investigators he had delivered the records to another party but could not verify this when questioned.

Further enquiries uncovered bank records demonstrating that Haroon Karim spent company money on unnecessary expenses despite having company debts. One of these purchases was a designer suit worth £1,000, which the claims management boss claimed he bought to attend an awards ceremony.

With a lack of records, neither the Liquidator nor the Insolvency Service were able to establish what happened to the company’s tangible assets. This led to Haroon Karim signing a seven-year disqualification undertaking in July 2018.

A criminal investigation was then launched into the claims management boss’ conduct, which resulted in Haroon Karim being charged on three counts, including: failing to deliver up books and records to the liquidator; failing to cause ACA Accident Claims Assistant Ltd to keep accounting records; and failing to preserve company accounting records.

A trial was set for 2 February 2022 before Haroon Karim pleaded guilty and was sentenced with a fine of £20,000 and costs of £5,715.34.

In separate proceedings, Haroon Karim was sentenced to six months for contempt of court. This was in connection with a claim brought by an insurance company in September 2017 after Haroon Karim had forged a claimant’s signature without their knowledge to start insurance compensation proceedings.

Julie Barnes, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said:

Haroon Karim was evasive throughout our enquiries and with a lack of company records was unable to explain exactly what happened to the company assets – something we’ll never know.

But the court recognised the severity of the claims management boss’ misconduct and have not only extended his ban from running limited companies but ordered Haroon Karim to pay a substantial fine.

We hope this serves as a stark warning to company directors that they have clear responsibilities and if they are not upheld, could lead to disqualifications and even criminal prosecutions.

Haroon Karim is from Bramcote, Nottingham, and his date of birth is May 1986

In February 2021, Haroon Karim was charged with:

• failing to deliver up books and records to the liquidator contrary to section 208(1)(c) Insolvency Act 1986
• failing to cause ACA to keep accounting records, contrary to Section 387 Companies Act 2006
• failing to preserve company accounting records contrary to section 389 Companies Act 2006.

Haroon Karim was director of:

• ACA Accident Claims Assistant Ltd (Company number: 08544451)
• ACA Claims Ltd (Company number: 08077710)
• Easy Go Hire Ltd (Company number: 10166615)
• Medical Healthcare Services Ltd (08831871)

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

• UK Biological Security Strategy aims to protect UK from domestic and global biological risks and threats, including emerging infectious diseases and potential biological attacks
• Call for Evidence will ensure refresh uses evidence-based policy and that the best minds in the UK and beyond provide rich insight and challenge

The Government is today (Wednesday 16 February) asking for health and security experts to inform the refresh of the UK’s Biological Security Strategy, which aims to protect the country from a range of biological threats, including emerging infectious diseases and potential misuse by hostile actors.

The updated Strategy will incorporate learnings from the recent response to COVID-19, consider evolving priorities since the pandemic, and reflect the rapid advances in science and technology across all aspects of biological security.

The Call for Evidence, published on gov.uk, will seek feedback on specific biological security risks from experts including those with a background in biological engineering, biological security, contingency planning and other related technical fields.

The key areas that will be considered in the refresh include:

• A major health crisis, such as pandemic influenza, non-influenza infectious outbreaks or new infectious disease
• Antimicrobial resistance
• A deliberate biological attack by state or non-state actors
• Animal and plant diseases, which themselves can pose risks to human health
• Accidental release, such as when smallpox and Foot and Mouth escaped from insecure labs, and dual-use research of concern, where life science research is misapplied to do harm

The Integrated Review published last year set out the vision for the UK’s role in the world over the next decade and highlighted the need to review and reinforce the cross-government approach to biological security, including a refresh of the 2018 Strategy. This Strategy brought together for the first time the work that takes place across Government to protect the UK from significant biological risks, no matter how these occur and no matter who or what they affect.

Whilst the UK has developed world-leading biological defences, such as public health testing facilities and genomic sequencing capability, the Integrated Review recognises that we must embrace innovation to bring to bear new biological security capabilities, exploit the opportunities that arise as a result, and build back better, at home and overseas, from COVID-19.

The updated Strategy will be published later this year.

Michael Ellis QC MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, said:

Ensuring that we are responding to the changing global security landscape and taking reasonable steps to ensure public safety is of critical importance. COVID-19 shone a light on the significance of biological security and ensuring we have robust plans in place to protect the public from threats here in the UK and overseas.

That’s why, following the Integrated Review, the Government will be looking into how we are protecting the country and its interests from significant biological risks. This will include considering the evolving priorities since the pandemic and rapid advances in science and technology across all aspects of biological security.

Tackling future challenges effectively requires evidence-based policy and decision-making and a collaborative science base. I urge experts to inform our discussions and provide further insight and best practice to ensure the best minds and talent across the UK are feeding into our Strategy.

The scale and impact of the risks we face require us to strengthen the way we work together, across departments and sectors. We will deliver robust, evidence-based biological security policies and technical solutions that protect the United Kingdom and our overseas interests. I welcome this call for evidence to integrate the expertise across the UK to solve these complex problems.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• The Call for Evidence is open for six weeks from Wednesday 16 February to Tuesday 29 March. Please visit gov.uk for more information on how to submit your views.
• The refreshed Biological Security Strategy will not affect the COVID-19 public inquiry. Once the terms of reference for the public inquiry have been published in draft, Baroness Hallett, the Chair of the COVID-19 inquiry, will take forward a process of public engagement and consultation.

The UK’s fight against zoonotic diseases, including avian flu and bovine tuberculosis received a major boost today (16 February) with the allocation of £200 million for a programme of investment into world leading research facilities.

The money will be spent on a state-of-the-art revamp of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) scientific laboratories at Weybridge – enhancing the UK’s already world-leading scientific and veterinary capability. Weybridge is renowned for its specialist research and laboratory facilities, and its animal health science and disease control capabilities – with a focus on tackling and eradicating high-risk animal diseases.

APHA is responsible for safeguarding animal and plant health. It was integral in controlling the devastating outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease in 2001, and is currently tasked with tackling the largest Avian Influenza outbreak on record. The outbreak of Covid-19, a zoonotic disease, has reiterated the importance of boosting our resilience to help prevent future pandemics.

New equipment and specialist testing facilities will mean APHA scientists can identify pathogens for existing and emerging threats posed by diseases spread by animals, and maintain our high biosecurity standards against Bovine TB, Salmonella and avian flu. Research at Weybridge has paved the way for field trials of a TB cattle vaccine which if successful will enable farmers to vaccinate their animals against this deadly disease.

APHA are also playing an essential role in tackling the largest outbreak of avian flu on record, supporting the rapid response to try to limit its spread and ensuring that the poultry industry is able to continue to operate. This investment in facilities will further enable Weybridge scientists to quickly sample, analyse and confirm the presence of bird flu in a location so APHA can act fast to tackle the threat.

Alongside these existing threats, the UK must be prepared for future risks from animal diseases which could pose a significant risk to UK farming and wildlife including African Swine Fever. This investment will offer APHA greater capacity to track diseases of concern across the globe and conduct research into a growing number of high-risk threats in advanced high-containment laboratories.

As well as protecting animal health and the wider public, a strong animal health science capability is crucial to protect the industries that rely on exporting animal and animal by-products, which were estimated to be in excess of £12 billion in 2019. This investment will enhance the UK’s international reputation as a safe agri-food trading partner.

Defra Biosecurity Minister Lord Benyon said:

The UK is a world leader when it comes to science and biosecurity. I have seen for myself the remarkable work done by APHA in responding to the recent outbreak of Avian Influenza, and in paving the way for field trials of a cattle vaccine against Bovine Tuberculosis.

This investment builds on a long-term programme to future-proof our animal health capabilities, and ensure that we are at the forefront of defence against future pandemics.

DEFRA Chief Scientific Advisor Gideon Henderson said:

The Animal and Plant Health Agency provides top-quality scientific expertise and capability for the critical job of protecting the UK’s animals, plant, and people from health risk. The importance of APHA’s work for society and for the UK economy is shown again and again; witness their work on the present avian influenza outbreak, and the global Covid pandemic – a zoonotic disease.

This substantial investment in APHA’s capability recognises the essential role of this government laboratory, and will enable its excellent scientists to continue at the forefront of research and policy to protect the country, boosting our resilience and strengthening our understanding of health risks to, and from, animals and plants”.

UK Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said:

Fast, reliable testing and world class animal disease surveillance is vital in halting the spread of animals diseases and mitigating the risk of pandemics.

This investment ensures APHA can continue its critical role in animal health science and help stop the spread of disease.

APHA Chief Executive Ian Hewett said:

As the National Reference Laboratory for 48 animal diseases and an International Reference Laboratory for further 23 diseases, APHA’s Weybridge science facility provides international assurance in the UK’s biosecurity capability to protect the health of animals and people, and underpin trade relations.

As a result of this funding, work is already underway to transform the campus, paving the way for a future science hub which supports our international reputation as experts in animal science and well-prepared national disease control.

The investment confirmed today will also enhance the capacity of the site to allow scientists to manage concurrent outbreaks and conduct research in parallel. This will help to control and eradicate animal and plant diseases and pests whilst reducing the risks from new and emerging threats.

Further information:

• In March 2020, a previous announcement included £1.2 billion in funding for the Science Capability in Animal Health programme at Weybridge as well as £200m for critical maintenance.
• The £200 million funding announced today is part of the £1.2 investment in the Science Capability in Animal Health programme