"What is interesting is that the gap between the cost of a first home and the rest of the market has remained largely consistent, as the cost of a home across both market segments has increased at almost identical rates"
- Verona Frankish - Yopa
New analysis from Yopa’s Housing Market Affordability Review of the last decade explored house price growth across each segment of the market and how the cost of securing homeownership has changed when adjusting for inflation.
UK average house price change
The research shows that, over the last decade, the average UK house price has increased by 51.8%, up from £176,561 in December 2014, to £268,087 in December 2024. However, after adjusting for inflation, the figures show that this rate of growth actually sits at just 12.1%, so whilst the value of a home has increased, the rate of growth isn’t quite as eye-watering as top-line house price statistics suggest.
First-time buyer vs. owner-occupier
The research also shows that the increase in the value of a first home has largely remained consistent with the same increase seen across the rest of the market.
In the last decade, first-time buyers have seen the price of a first home jump by 50.6%, or 11.2% once adjusting for inflation. At the same time, the value of homes purchased by former owner-occupiers has climbed by 51.7% since 2014, or 12% when adjusting for inflation.
This means that, a decade ago, the average first-time buyer was paying 30.8% less compared to existing homeowners, with this gap increasing to just 31.3% today.
New-build vs. existing property
New-build properties have seen by far the largest boost in value over the last 10 years, with the average price of a new-build increasing by 79% between December 2014 and December 2024. Even after adjusting for inflation, this rate of growth still sits at 33.1%.
In contrast, the average value of an existing property has increased by 51% over the last 10 years, or 12.3% once adjusted for inflation.
As a result, the premium paid for a new-build property versus an existing one has increased from 23.7% to a huge 46.6% since 2014.
“The top line rate of house price growth seen over the last ten years alone can be pretty scary at first glance, to say the least, with the average value of a home increasing by almost 52% since 2014," explained CEO of Yopa, Verona Frankish.
However, she adds, "The reality is that this rate of growth is far more palatable when taking inflation into account, although it’s fair to say that the plight of the nation’s homebuyers certainly hasn’t improved when it comes to the affordability of purchasing a property.
"What is interesting is that the gap between the cost of a first home and the rest of the market has remained largely consistent, as the cost of a home across both market segments has increased at almost identical rates. The same certainly can’t be said for the new-build sector though, with the value of a new home skyrocketing over the last decade when compared to the increases seen across the rest of the market.”
