Average UK house price is £7,000 below peak seen last September

UK house price inflation in May this year was running at about one-seventh of the levels seen last summer, according to official figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Property values increased by 1.9% annually in May this year, a significant decrease from the 14.1% annual house price inflation recorded in July 2022.

The average UK house price in May 2023 was £286,000, which is £6,000 higher than 12 months earlier, but £7,000 below a recent peak seen in September 2022. Average house prices increased over the 12 months to May 2023 to £304,000 in England (1.7% annual growth), £213,000 in Wales (1.8%), £193,000 in Scotland (3.2%), and £172,000 in Northern Ireland (5.0%).

Within England, the North East recorded the highest annual percentage increase in house prices in the 12 months to May 2023 (4.0%), while the East had the lowest, with 0.0% growth.

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, the average UK house price fell by 0.4% in May 2023, following a month-on-month increase of 0.5% in April 2023.

Aimee North, the head of housing market indices at the ONS, commented on the figures, saying: “UK annual house price inflation slowed again in May for the seventh consecutive month. While the average UK house price remains higher than 12 months ago, prices are now £7,000 below the recent peak in September 2022."

In addition to the house price data, the ONS also revealed that UK rental prices increased again, with the highest annual inflation since records began in 2016. Wales experienced the highest annual inflation in June, while in England, the West Midlands had the highest annual inflation and the North East had the lowest.

The ONS figures, covering the month of June 2023, showed that private rental prices paid