How we report house prices

1. 1

   Gather recent sector sales

   We collect every standard residential home sale recorded by HM Land Registry in the postcode’s sector (e.g. “SW1A 1”) over the last 12 months. Standard transactions are open-market transfers of houses or flats (detached, semi-detached, terraced, and flats/maisonettes). Repossessions, commercial transfers, corporate acquisitions, and non-residential properties are excluded to avoid distortions.

2. 2

   Calculate the 12-month median price

   The headline price is the median of all standard residential sales in the sector over the rolling 12-month period. A median ensures that an occasional multi-million-pound or discounted sale does not distort the typical price of the neighbourhood.

3. 3

   Require minimum sales volume

   To display an authoritative median and annual price trend, the sector must have at least 10 recorded sales in the 12-month period. When fewer than 10 sales are recorded, the sample is flagged as low-volume to preserve statistical reliability.

4. 4

   Widen the area if sales are thin

   If the sector has insufficient sales, we evaluate the wider postal district (e.g. “SW1A”). If sales remain scarce or the postcode is located in Scotland or Northern Ireland, we reference official local authority benchmarks from the UK House Price Index.

Street sales register. Every Land Registry Price Paid transaction recorded on the exact postcode, showing the full street address, sale price, date of completion, property type, and tenure (freehold or leasehold).

Property type medians. Sector median prices broken down by property type (detached, semi-detached, terraced, flat/maisonette). Each property type requires at least 3 sales to establish a reliable median, and is flagged as a low sample otherwise.

Change over the year. The median of sales in the last 12 months compared directly with the prior 12-month median. We only show annual price movement when each 12-month window has at least 10 recorded sales.

Homes in this neighbourhood. Official Census 2021 accommodation breakdown for the Output Area and LSOA, showing the structural distribution of whole houses, bungalows, flats, apartments, and converted buildings.

Official rental statistics. Official median monthly rent figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS Price Index of Private Rents) at the local authority level. We never guess or estimate rent from sale prices; if official figures are unpublished for a district, rent is reported as unrecorded. Rental yield is calculated only when both official rent and local sales evidence exist.

The trend chart shows the median sale price for each year, so one very expensive or very cheap sale can’t swing it. It works out the average yearly growth between the first and last year shown (the compound annual growth rate) and projects it forward 1, 3 and 5 years. It picks the best data available, in this order:

1. 1

   Local sales

   The median price of standard home sales in each of the last five complete calendar years, in the sector or, if the sector is thin, the district. A year needs at least 10 sales to be shown, and the chart needs at least two such years. The current year is left out until it is complete.

2. 2

   Local authority index

   If local sales can’t give two such years, we show the local authority’s latest UK House Price Index figure and the figure 12 months earlier implied by its published annual change.

3. 3

   No chart

   If neither is available, we show no trend rather than an estimated one. The chart’s note says which source it used.

The projection simply carries the past rate forward. It is not a valuation or a forecast, and it isn’t financial advice.

• Medians depend on what sold. A sector where mostly flats sold will show a lower median than one where mostly houses sold, even if underlying values are similar.
• Sales reach the Land Registry some weeks after completion, so the latest month is usually incomplete.
• Individual sales are only published for England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland use local authority averages instead.
• Nothing here values a particular home. For that you need a RICS surveyor or a mortgage valuation.