Average house price in the UK has almost trebled in t...

There has been a general softening in residential property prices across many parts of the UK in recent months, suggesting that there is plenty of room for negotiations when buying property, which is welcome news for some property investors, especially those who expect to see long-term capital growth.

Discerning investors who look at longer-term trends rather than focusing on monthly movements will find that UK house prices have almost tripled over the past 20 years.

Research shows that in 1999 the average house price in the UK was £77,961. Now that figure is £230,735. Average income has also increased - but only by 70%, according to Coulters Property.

When broken down by region you can see how house prices have increased at different rates:

Region	House Price (1999)	House Price (2020)	Difference (£)	Difference (%)
London	£115,686	£481,645	£365,958.33	316.34%
East of England	£76,768	£291,021	£214,252.67	279.09%
East Midlands	£55,834	£194,933	£139,099.25	249.13%
South West	£74,707	£259,891	£185,184.67	247.88%
South East	£94,201	£322,863	£228,661.92	242.74%
North West	£50,145	£165,714	£115,569.50	230.47%
Yorkshire and Humber	£49,490	£163,093	£113,602.83	229.55%
West Midlands	£60,954	£199,594	£138,640.83	227.45%
Wales	£50,126	£163,739	£113,613.58	226.66%
Scotland	£49,924	£152,469	£102,545.00	205.40%
North East	£47,000	£127,704	£80,704.17	171.71%
Northern Ireland	£62,048	£140,580	£78,531.75	126.57%

In 1999, a 10% deposit would typically have worked out at about 43.8% of the average annual salary, these days, that figure has risen by about three quarters to 76%. You can view the difference in deposits over the past 20 years by region below:

Region	Deposit (1999)	Deposit (2020)	Deposit % of Earnings (1999)	Deposit % of Earnings (2020)	Difference in Deposit % of Earnings
London	£11,569	£48,164	51.40%	120.90%	69.50%
East of England	£7,677	£29,102	42.60%	95.50%	52.90%
South East	£9,420	£32,286	50.30%	100.10%	49.80%
South West	£7,471	£25,989	44.70%	89.30%	44.60%
East Midlands	£5,583	£19,493	34.10%	68.90%	34.80%
West Midlands	£6,095	£19,959	35.90%	69.40%	33.50%
Wales	£5,013	£16,374	30.50%	59.50%	29.00%
North West	£5,014	£16,571	29.50%	58.40%	28.90%
Yorkshire and Humber	£4,949	£16,309	29.90%	58.70%	28.80%
Scotland	£4,992	£15,247	29.50%	50.70%	21.20%
North East	£4,700	£12,770	28.90%	47.30%	18.40%
Northern Ireland	£6,205	£14,058	39.30%	50.30%	11.00%