December 2023 Property Surveying market fact file

Large property in Dartmouth, Devon

Our monthly Property Surveying summary of property market news, survey data, statistics, trends and information. (All figures below are the most recently available data.)

UK House Price Index

Data source: Land Registry

UK average house price = £291,000, -0.5% change in the month, 0.1% up in the year. Monthly index (where January 2015 = 100) 152.8

Halifax

UK average house price = £283,615, 0.5% in the month, -0.7% in the quarter, -1.0% in the year. Monthly index (where January 1992 = 100) 489.1

The most downward pressure on house prices was seen in the South East of England.

House price resilience is strengthened by a shortage of available properties. Mortgage rates are beginning to ease which may improve buyer confidence, although the extent of this is uncertain due to continued economic uncertainty.

Rightmove

National average house asking price = £355,177, -1.9% in the month and -1.1% in the year.

Average new seller asking prices fell by -£6,966 in the month. Although a fall is usual in December, this is the biggest drop in 20 years.

Family movers are expected to resume house moves after a period of uncertainty after the mini-budget.

Nationwide

UK average house price = £258,557, 0.2% change in the month and -2.0% decrease in the year.

Annual growth is the strongest seen since February 2023, but remains weak. There are hopes that interest rates will fall to around 3.5% in the coming years.

LSL / Acadata

Average England and Wales house price = £358,337, -0.7% change in the month, -4.6% in the year.

Merseyside, Lancashire and the east of Cheshire have all seen record house prices, indicating that price declines may be easing. However, the number of housing transactions has fallen to the lowest level in 17 years.

REGIONAL HOUSE PRICES
(all percentages are positive unless indicated otherwise)

UK HPI Regional figures

September 2023 Average Price % Monthly change % Annual change
England £310,000 -0.5% -0.5%
Northern Ireland (Quarter 2 – 2023) £180,000 3.1% 2.1%
Scotland £195,000 -0.2% 2.5%
Wales £215,000 -0.9% -2.7%
East Midlands £251,000 -0.6% 0.4%
East of England £353,000 -0.4% -0.4%
London £537,000 -0.3% -1.1%
North East £163,000 -2.0% 1.6%
North West £218,000 0.5% 0.6%
South East £392,000 -0.6% -1.4%
South West £329,000 -0.2% 0.5%
West Midlands Region £254,000 -0.2% 0.5%
Yorkshire and the Humber £210,000 -2.4% 0.0%

UK HPI Average monthly price by property type

Property type September 2023 September 2022 Difference
Detached £461,000 £457,000 1.1%
Semi-detached £282,000 £282,000 -0.1%
Terraced £237,000 £233,000 0.1%
Flat or maisonette £233,000 £233,000 0.1%
All £291,000 £292,000 -0.1%

Rightmove regional figures

December 2023 Average price GBP Monthly change Annual change
London £667,019 -0.9% -0.1%
South East £455,580 -3.5% -3.7%
South West £369,690 -1.9% -0.9%
East of England £405,158 -2.1% -3.2%
West Midlands £281,696 -0.5% 0.9%
East Midlands £275,866 -1.9% -2.0%
North West £248,770 -2.5% 1.5%
Wales £251,198 -1.2% 1.2%
Yorkshire & Humberside £237,547 -2.0% 0.7%
North East £178,574 -1.8% 0.4%

LSL Acadata Regional Data

October 2023 Average House Price £ GBP Monthly % change Annual % Change Greater
Greater London £688,799 -0.4% -2.7%
South East £455,724 -1.1% -5.5%
South West £368,854 -0.8% -4.6%
East of England £389,724 -1.1% -6.1%
West Midlands £284,902 -0.2% -2.9%
East Midlands £270,623 -1.1% -4.7%
North West £249,812 -2.1% -0.5%
Wales £236,383 -0.5% -5.8%
Yorkshire & Humber £238,072 -1.2% -4.2%
North East £197,509 0.3% -1.8%

Focus on London
Best and Worst annual performers according to:

Rightmove
December 2023
Average Price (£) GBP Monthly change Annual change
Wandsworth £860,483 1.8% 4.4%
Westminster £1,483,921 2.4% 3.7%
Hounslow £581,638 -2.3% -4.7%
Merton £694,521 0.1% -5.8%
LCL Acadata
October 2023
Average Price (£) GBP Monthly change Annual change
Westminster £2,002,181 1.6% 9.3%
Richmond upon Thames £1,029,202 -0.1% 7.4%
Lambeth £611,028 -0.4% -9.9%
Brent £619,582 -0.3% -12.9%

RICS Survey Overview

The RICS Residential Market Survey for November 2023 reported an improved near term outlook and less negative activity metrics. The national house price decline appears to be slowing.

Tenant demand is still rising, albeit at the lowest level since January 2021. Rents are projected to rise by 4% over the coming year.

Rightmove.co.uk is the UKs leading property website, displaying details of homes for sale or rent to the largest online audience. It is consistently ranked the number one property website in the UK (source: Experian Hitwise). It has around 90% of all properties for sale and at any time displays a stock of over one million properties to buy or rent, worth around £270 billion. The Rightmove.co.uk site attracts over 130 million visits from home movers each month with time on site averaging over one billion minutes per month (Rightmove data, 2017).

LSL Acad E&W HPI is derived from Land Registry (LR) house price data, seasonally and mix adjusted by property type. © Crown copyright material reproduced with the permission of Land Registry. The prices are smoothed to show underlying trends. LSL Acad E&W HPI includes cash purchase prices and is the only index based upon the complete, factual house price data for England & Wales, as opposed to a sample.

UK HPI: Monthly house price inflation, calculated using data from Land Registry, Registers of Scotland and Land and Property Services Northern Ireland. This replaces the previous House Price Indices separately published by Office of National Statistics and Land Registry.

All figures within this article are correct at the time of going to press, and are reproduced in good faith. No responsibility will be taken for any decisions taken based on the information contained herein. Always seek professional advice.

The Monthly Market Fact File is updated monthly on the day of publication.

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