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House Price Index, December 2012

The latest House Price Index produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) was released on 12 February 2013, according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.

Statistics on Average House Prices and Annual House Price Inflation include data for the United Kingdom and its Government Regions for the period to December 2012. The latest release updates the statistics previously released on 15 January 2013.

The ONS House Price Index (HPI), previously published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), is calculated using mortgage financed transactions that are collected via the Regulated Mortgage Survey by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and covering the majority of mortgage lenders in the UK.

It provides comprehensive information on the change in house prices on a monthly and annual basis across the different regions of the UK (including Wales). The data are not seasonally adjusted, unless otherwise stated, so month-on-month comparisons should be treated with caution.

Data for October and November 2012 have been revised as scheduled to account for those mortgage lenders who provide data on a quarterly rather than monthly basis.

The key points from the latest release are:

  • over the year to December 2012, the HPI in Wales increased by 2.4 per cent compared with the 12 months to November 2012 which had shown a 0.8 per cent increase
  • across the UK as a whole, the HPI increased by 3.3 per cent over the year to December 2012 compared with an increase of 2.2 per cent over the year to November 2012
  • comparing December 2012 with November 2012 (not seasonally adjusted), average house prices increased in Wales and across the UK as a whole
  • the average house price* in Wales in December was £158,143, the third lowest figure amongst the regions of the UK (higher only than Northern Ireland and the North East)
  • the average house price* in the UK in December 2012 was £233,295, whilst the UK figure, excluding London and the South East, was £187,313

Notes

*Mix-adjusted house prices which take account of the different mix of properties sold in the period in question and are thus unaffected by varying sales of particular property types in one period when compared to another.

Further information

Office for National Statistics website: House Price Index, December 2012 (external link)

Contact

Tel: 029 2082 3757
E-mail: stats.housing@wales.gsi.gov.uk

Next update

March 2013