Pulse.Assent

This is ahead of the fast-approaching annual cyclone and monsoon season which has the potential to cause significant devastation and loss of life.

Almost a million persecuted Rohingya people, who have fled neighbouring Burma, live in the fragile and cramped camps.

The UN estimates 102,000 of them are living in areas at risk of flooding and 12,000 people are at risk from landslides.

Alongside international aid organisations International Organisation for Migration and UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), the UK has helped to ensure more than 158,000 people have received reinforced shelter and sandbags to protect them from winds and flood water.

Work has also begun on the reinforcement of pathways through camps needed to deliver supplies and services.

Plans to cope with the aftermath of flooding and landslides are also being stepped up.

Water-borne diseases are common in the aftermath of a flood, and UK aid is ensuring that more than 250,000 people will continue to have access to safe drinking water throughout the rainy season.

More than 5,000 new latrines have been constructed and have been strategically placed throughout the camps and plans to move more than 6,700 latrines to safe grounds have already begun.

UK-supported cholera, measles and diphtheria vaccination campaigns have also taken place in readiness for the monsoons.

These will provide protection against some of the most common diseases in the camps, which can be more widespread during the rainy season.

So far, 391,000 children under the age of seven have been vaccinated, with a further 400,000 children due to receive the vaccinations planned by the end of March.

Healthcare workers are also being trained to prevent, identify and treat common illnesses likely during the rainy season and to manage higher caseloads.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

With the cyclone and monsoon season in Bangladesh imminent it is time to firmly focus our efforts on Cox’s Bazar where nearly a million persecuted and displaced Rohingya people now live.

The Rohingya people have suffered so much already and now they are living in constant fear of the imminent floods causing utter devastation and destruction.

Our swift response can save lives. Right now UK aid is strengthening roads and pathways to ensure vital medication and food can reach the very centre of the camps. UK aid is also reinforcing shelters to protect vulnerable families at risk of flood water and landslides.

England

The data for England shows:

• house prices have fallen by 0.5% since December 2017
• an annual price rise of 4.6% takes the average property value to £242,286

The regional data for England indicates that:

• the South West experienced the greatest monthly price rise, up by 1.4%
• the North East saw the most significant monthly price fall, down by 5.5% and
• London experienced a monthly price rise, up by 1%

Price change by region for England

Region	Average price January 2018	Monthly change % since December 2017
East Midlands	£185,568	-0.1
East of England	£289,729	-0.7
London	£485,830	1.0
North East	£122,870	-5.5
North West	£155,788	-1.5
South East	£323,435	0.2
South West	£255,307	1.4
West Midlands	£187,905	-2.0
Yorkshire and the Humber	£156,484	-0.7

Repossession sales by volume for England

The lowest number of repossession sales in November 2017 was in the East of England.

The highest number of repossession sales in November 2017 was in the North West.

Repossession sales	November 2017
East Midlands	64
East of England	18
London	36
North East	85
North West	162
South East	56
South West	35
West Midlands	62
Yorkshire and the Humber	115
England	633

Average price by property type for England

Property type	January 2018	January 2017	Difference %
Detached	£365,697	£349,733	4.6
Semi-detached	£225,674	£213,611	5.6
Terraced	£194,167	£185,996	4.4
Flat/maisonette	£228,099	£220,139	3.6
All	£242,286	£231,593	4.6

Funding and buyer status for England

Transaction type	Average price January 2018	Annual price change % since January 2017	Monthly price change % since December 2017
Cash	£227,783	4.6	-0.5
Mortgage	£249,593	4.6	-0.5
First-time buyer	£203,152	4.4	-0.7
Former owner occupier	£275,127	4.8	-0.3

Building status for England

Building status*	Average price November 2017	Annual price change % since November 2016	Monthly price change % since October 2017
New build	£320,489	13.5	3.6
Existing resold property	£237,791	4.5	-0.2

*Figures for the two most recent months are not being published because there are not enough new build transactions to give a meaningful result.

Sales volumes for England

The most up-to-date HM Land Registry sales figures available for England show that the number of completed house sales in November 2017 fell by 13% to 64,454 compared with 74,097 in November 2016

Month	Sales 2017	Sales 2016	Difference %
October	69,133	70,825	-2.4
November	64,454	74,097	-13.0

London

The data for London shows:

• house prices have risen by 1% since December 2017
• an annual price rise of 2.1% takes the average property value to £485,830

Average price by property type for London

Property type	January 2018	January 2017	Difference %
Detached	£887,700	£893,279	-0.6
Semi-detached	£578,716	£568,911	1.7
Terraced	£499,645	£487,710	2.4
Flat/maisonette	£431,756	£421,834	2.4
All	£485,830	£475,619	2.1

Funding and buyer status for London

Transaction type	Average price January 2018	Annual price change % since January 2017	Monthly price change % since December 2017
Cash	£514,490	2.5	1.8
Mortgage	£477,088	2.1	0.8
First-time buyer	£425,253	2.1	1.1
Former owner occupier	£547,733	2.2	0.9

Building status for London

Building status*	Average price November 2017	Annual price change % since November 2016	Monthly price change % since October 2017
New build	£523,481	9.2	1.3
Existing resold property	£474,681	1.0	-1.1

*Figures for the two most recent months are not being published because there are not enough new build transactions to give a meaningful result.

Sales volumes for London

The most up-to-date HM Land Registry sales figures available for London show that the number of completed house sales in November 2017 fell by 24.6% to 6,165 compared with 8,178 in November 2016

Month	Sales 2017	Sales 2016	Difference %
October	7,054	8,100	-12.9
November	6,165	8,178	-24.6

Wales

The data for Wales shows:

• house prices have fallen by 0.5% since December 2017
• an annual price rise of 4.5% takes the average property value to £153,034

Average price by property type for Wales

Property type	January 2018	January 2017	Difference %
Detached	£232,526	£221,555	5.0
Semi-detached	£148,715	£140,503	5.8
Terraced	£116,573	£113,087	3.1
Flat/maisonette	£110,479	£105,921	4.3
All	£153,034	£146,395	4.5

Funding and buyer status for Wales

Transaction type	Average price January 2018	Annual price change % since January 2017	Monthly price change % since December 2017
Cash	£148,756	4.3	-0.7
Mortgage	£155,572	4.6	-0.3
First-time buyer	£131,595	4.0	-0.9
Former owner occupier	£178,201	5.1	0.0

Building status for Wales

Building status	Average price November 2017	Annual price change % since November 2016	Monthly price change % since October 2017
New build	£216,604	14.4	3.3
Existing resold property	£149,835	4.3	-0.9

*Figures for the two most recent months are not being published because there are not enough new build transactions to give a meaningful result.

Sales volumes for Wales

The most up-to-date HM Land Registry sales figures available for Wales show:

• the number of completed house sales in November 2017 fell by 5.2% to 3,871 compared with 4,084 in November 2016; and
• there were 66 repossession sales in November 2017

Month	Sales 2017	Sales 2016	Difference %
October	4,103	3,957	3.7
November	3,871	4,084	-5.2

Access the full UK HPI.

UK house prices grew by 4.9% in the year to January 2018, down from 5.0% in the year to December 2017.

The UK Property Transaction Statistics for January 2018 showed that on a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of transactions on residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater has fallen by 0.1% in the year to January 2018. Between December 2017 and January 2018, transactions increased by 1.3%.

Looking at the country and regional level, the largest annual price growth was recorded in Scotland and the East Midlands at 7.3%. The lowest annual growth was in the North East, where prices increased by 0.7% over the year, followed by London at 2.1%. This is the 14th consecutive month where the annual growth in London has remained below the UK average.

See the economic statement.

Notes to editors

1. The UK House Price Index (HPI) is published on the second or third Tuesday of each month with Northern Ireland figures updated quarterly. The February 2018 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on 18 April 2018. See calendar of release dates.
2. As from April 2018, this release will be published on Wednesdays.
3. We have made some changes to improve the accuracy of the UK HPI. We are not publishing average price and percentage change for new builds and existing resold property as done previously because there are not currently enough new build transactions to provide a reliable result. This means that in this month’s UK HPI reports, new builds and existing resold property are reported in line with the sales volumes currently available.
4. The UK HPI revision period has been extended to 13 months, following a review of the revision policy (see calculating the UK HPI section 4.4. This ensures the data used is more comprehensive.
5. Sales volume data is also available by property status (new build and existing property) and funding status (cash and mortgage) in our downloadable data tables. Transactions involving the creation of a new register, such as new builds, are more complex and require more time to process. Read revisions to the UK HPI data.
6. Revision tables have been introduced for England and Wales within the downloadable data. Tables will be available in csv format. See about the UK HPI for more information.
7. Data for the UK HPI is provided by HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, Land & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and the Valuation Office Agency.
8. The UK HPI is calculated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) andLand & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. It applies a hedonic regression model that uses the various sources of data on property price, in particular HM Land Registry’s Price Paid Dataset, and attributes to produce estimates of the change in house prices each month. Find out more about the methodology used from the ONS and Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency.
9. The UK Property Transaction statistics are taken from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) monthly estimates of the number of residential and non-residential property transactions in the UK and its constituent countries. The number of property transactions in the UK is highly seasonal, with more activity in the summer months and less in the winter. This regular annual pattern can sometimes mask the underlying movements and trends in the data series so HMRC also presents the UK aggregate transaction figures on a seasonally adjusted basis. Adjustments are made for both the time of year and the construction of the calendar, including corrections for the position of Easter and the number of trading days in a particular month.
10. UK HPI seasonally adjusted series are calculated at regional and national levels only. See data tables.
11. The first estimate for new build average price (April 2016 report) was based on a small sample which can cause volatility. A three-month moving average has been applied to the latest estimate to remove some of this volatility.
12. Work has been taking place since 2014 to develop a single, official HPI that reflects the final transaction price for sales of residential property in the UK. Using the geometric mean, it covers purchases at market value for owner-occupation and buy-to-let, excluding those purchases not at market value (such as re-mortgages), where the ‘price’ represents a valuation.
13. Information on residential property transactions for England and Wales, collected as part of the official registration process, is provided by HM Land Registry for properties that are sold for full market value.
14. The HM Land Registry dataset contains the sale price of the property, the date when the sale was completed, full address details, the type of property (detached, semi-detached, terraced or flat), if it is a newly built property or an established residential building and a variable to indicate if the property has been purchased as a financed transaction (using a mortgage) or as a non-financed transaction (cash purchase).
15. Repossession sales data is based on the number of transactions lodged with HM Land Registry by lenders exercising their power of sale.
16. For England, this is shown as volumes of repossession sales recorded by Government Office Region. For Wales, there is a headline figure for the number of repossession sales recorded in Wales.
17. The data can be downloaded as a .csv file. Repossession sales data prior to April 2016 is not available. Find out more information about repossession sales.
18. Background tables of the raw and cleansed aggregated data, in Excel and CSV formats, are also published monthly although Northern Ireland is on a quarterly basis. They are available for free use and re-use under the Open Government Licence.
19. HM Land Registry’s mission is to guarantee and protect property rights in England and Wales.
20. HM Land Registry is a government department created in 1862. It operates as an executive agency and a trading fund and its running costs are covered by the fees paid by the users of its services. Its ambition is to become the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data.
21. HM Land Registry safeguards land and property ownership worth in excess of £4 trillion, including around £1 trillion of mortgages. The Land Register contains more than 25 million titles showing evidence of ownership for some 85% of the land mass of England and Wales.
22. For further information about HM Land Registry visit www.gov.uk/land-registry
23. Follow us on Twitter @HMLandRegistry, our blog, LinkedIn and Facebook

Contact