House Price Index, April 2014

18th June 2014

UK house prices increased by 9.9% in the year to April 2014, up from 8.0% in the year to March 2014.

House price annual inflation was 10.4% in England, 3.3% in Wales, 4.8% in Scotland and 2.6% in Northern Ireland.

House prices are increasing strongly across most parts of the UK, with prices in London again showing the highest growth.

Annual house price increases in England were driven by rises in London (18.7%), the South East (8.9%) and the East (8.5%).

Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 6.3% in the 12 months to April 2014.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices increased by 2.0% between March and April 2014.

In April 2014, prices paid by first-time buyers were 10.7% higher on average than in April 2013. For owner-occupiers (existing owners), prices increased by 9.5% for the same period.

England is the only UK country where property prices are now higher than the pre-financial crisis peak of January 2008.
The England index reached 195.3 in April 2014. This is 8.0% higher than the peak in January 2008 of 180.8. The index for Northern Ireland (142.0) in April 2014 is 49.6% below the peak of August 2007 (281.5). The index for Scotland (219.8) in April 2014 is 4.7% below the peak of June 2008 (230.6). The index for Wales (214.4) in April 2014 is 3.5% below the peak of January 2008 (222.1).

UK average house prices increased by 9.9% over the year to April 2014, up from an increase of 8.0% in the year to March 2014. This follows the moderate house price increases the UK has experienced since April 2012 and is driven in large part by increases in London. This is the highest annual increase in UK house prices since May 2010 (when prices increased by 10.6%), although average prices also increased by 9.9% in the year to June 2010. The average UK mixadjusted house price in April 2014 was £260,000.

Average house prices increased in all nine English regions over the year to April 2014. The largest increase was again in London at 18.7% followed by the South East (8.9%) and the East (8.5%). This is the largest annual increase in London prices since the record increase witnessed in July 2007 (18.8%). Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 6.3% over the year to April 2014.

Source
Office For National Statistics