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House Price Index, March 2012

The latest House Price Index produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) was released on 22 May 2012, 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 March 2012. The latest release updates the statistics previously released on 18 April 2012.

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 so month-on-month comparisons should be treated with caution.

Estimates for January and February 2012 have been revised as scheduled to include data provided by mortgage lenders who return data on a quarterly basis only. The result has been a mainly upwards revision of the January and February price indices.

The key points from the latest release are:

  • Over the year to March 2012, the HPI in Wales increased by 0.4 per cent compared with February 2012 which showed no increase or decrease over the 12 months.
  • Across the UK as a whole, the HPI decreased by 0.4 per cent over the year to March 2012 compared with the annual increase to February 2012 of 1 per cent.
  • Comparing March 2012 with February 2012 (not seasonally adjusted), average house prices increased in Wales but decreased slightly across the UK as a whole.
  • The average house price* in Wales in March 2012 was £153,957, 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 March 2012 was £225,283, whilst the UK figure, excluding London and the South East, was £184,377.

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, March 2012

Contact

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

Next update

June 2012 (provisional - to be confirmed on 'Due out Soon' page)