Overview of housing market and house price information

Introduction

Communities and Local Government is interested in monitoring house prices and housing market information to identify areas of high and low demand and to look at levels of housing affordability.

How Communities and Local Government publishes housing market and house prices information

Statistical Releases

The Communities and Local Government monthly house price index is a weighted average of prices for a standard mix of dwellings.

The data used for this is a survey known as the Regulated Mortgage Survey (RMS). From 1993 to 2002, the sample size ranged from 26,000 to 36,000 cases per year. Since 2001 a number of lenders have started supplying 100 per cent of completions instead of a five per cent sample. This allowed us to launch the more reliable monthly house price index in September 2003, with a monthly series starting from February 2002. The number of cases included in the calculations, currently averages over 25,000 cases per month. We estimate that in 2007 we obtained data for 60 per cent of all UK mortgages for house purchase.

The questionnaire on which the survey is based has been revised from time to time, notably in 1982 when the question on the previous tenure of borrowers was extended to identify sitting tenants. The method of analysis was introduced in the second quarter of 1968 and most of the detailed series now published have their origins in this period. A description of the current methodology can be found in the Notes, definitions and methodology section.

From 1969 to 1992 the index reflected dwellings mortgaged by building societies. From 1981 sales to local authority sitting tenants were excluded and from 1982 sales to all sitting tenants were excluded. From 1983 the standard mix of dwellings was updated annually to reflect the mix of dwellings purchased during the previous three years. In the early 1990s many of the larger building societies converted to banks and an index limited to building society mortgages could no longer be assumed to be representative of all house purchases. So from 1993 the index was extended to include both banks and building societies and was re-named the All Lenders index. Since then the survey has been revised occasionally with the current version, the RMS, starting in August 2005.

Figures from the RMS are subject to random sampling errors. Approximate coefficients of variation of the average dwelling prices, advances and incomes in each series vary according to the sample size.

The Statistical Release features the latest house prices and house price annual rates of change figures based on completions data reported by a wide range of mortgage lenders. Tables include: house price indices; house price annual rate of change figures; mix-adjusted average house prices - both for the UK and for the regions, and by type of buyer at the UK level. A commentary is included to highlight the most significant aspects of the latest data.

The release is usually published at 09.30 hrs on the second Tuesday of each month with release dates given three months in advance. The release is shown in the Statistics section of the Communities and Local Government website, with additional links in the Housing Statistics section.

Live tables

Live tables are available for the latest mix-adjusted house prices, house price annual rate of change figures and simple average house prices, mortgages and incomes using data from the Regulated Mortgage Survey.

Live tables are also available for mean, median and lower quartile house prices based on HM Land Registry data providing comprehensive coverage of all residential property transactions in England and Wales. Data from HM Land Registry is also used, along with earnings data from the Office for National Statistics, to show affordability at the district level.

Live tables are available for other housing market data including property transactions from HM Revenue and Customs, mortgage possessions from the Ministry of Justice and Council of Mortgage Lenders and land prices from Valuation Office.