House Prices Keep Rising After a Bumper Year for Sellers

House prices are predicted to keep going up after 12 months of hitting record highs, according to data from February 2022.

The average home put on a £27,000 value last year and now costs just under £274,712.

But estate agents fear that the fast-rising market is leaving behind first-time buyers.

Another casualty is the Help to Buy ISA, which must be spent on a home worth no more than £250,000 (£450,000 in London).

Here's a round-up of what lenders and agents are saying - but bear in mind that their statistics relate to different periods and sample sizes

Zoopla

• Average house prices were up 7.8 per cent in the 12 months to January, taking the average house price to £244,100
• Wales has had the highest regional price growth for 11 months in a row, at 11.7 per cent, while prices in London grew slower at 3.1 per cent.
• A new year surge in buyers is easing at a modest pace
• The number of homes for sale is running ahead of 2021 in every region, specifically for family homes
• The property portal expects prices to ease this year

Read the full report.

Halifax

• February house prices rose 0.5 per cent from January in a slow start to the year.
• The year's growth was 10.8 per cent and the strongest since the 11.9 per cent posted in June 2007
• The average house price reaches another record high of £278,123
• The squeeze on household finances is expected to weigh on the market this year

Read the full report.

Nationwide

• House prices surged by 12.6 per cent in the year to February, up from 11.2 per cent in January.
• Prices were up 1.7 per cent from January.
• The average house price burst through the £260,000 barrier for the first time to reach £260,230 - an increase of more than £5,000 on January's £255,556
• The cost of a typical home in February 2022 is 20 per cent higher than in February 2020

Read the full report.

LSL Properties

The company is one of the largest estate agents, with Your Move and Reeds Rains brands.

• Prices continued to climb in January - up 1.2% in the month
• The South West saw the highest price rises over the past 12 months
• London had the lowest price growth of all regions

Read the full report.

Office for National Statistics

• Average house prices increased by 10.8 per cent over the 12 months until December, up from 10.7 per cent in November.
• The average house price was £275,000 in December, which is £27,000 higher than this time the year before
• Average house prices rose in England to £293,000 (10.7 per cent), in Wales to £205,000 (13.0 per cent). In Scotland to £180,000 (11.2 per cent.
• London had the lowest annual growth at 5.5per cent.

Read the full report.

House prices by region - December 2021

The ONS statistics show house prices have increased the most last year in the South West - up 13.8 per cent.

London's 5.5 per cent jump in value was the worst in the English regions.

House Price Digest FAQ

The figures for average house prices and movements in property values can be confusing if you don't know how to read the data.

Here are some of the most asked questions about house price indices.

Why are the average property prices different in each report?

The reports use different data to draw conclusions and take the data from different periods.

Nationwide and Halifax base their indices on customer data, which are much smaller samples than the national data analysed by the ONS.

Acadata's methodology includes analysis that no other index uses.

Each organisation collects data over different periods, making a direct comparison difficult.

What is the average house price?

There's no such thing as an average home; the figure is simply math calculated from the total value of all transactions in the sample divided by the number of homes changing hands.

Which house price index is the best?

All have flaws because of the restricted data, but the one with the broadest sample comes from the ONS. Unfortunately, the ONS data is usually the last to market and out of date by two to three months on publication.