DocsReport Reference
Trends & Local Comparisons
Trends and comparisons place the headline figures in context. They show changes over time, differences between neighbouring authorities and variation within an authority, without implying that every property follows the same pattern.
Market Momentum
The Price & Sales Index puts price per square metre and recorded sales activity on a common starting scale. Both begin at 100 in the labelled base period, allowing their relative movements to be compared even though the underlying units differ.
An index of 105 means the measure is 5% above its own base-period value. It does not mean a price of GBP105, 105 transactions or a five-percentage-point market share. The two lines can move differently because price and transaction activity measure different things.
| Annual Moves label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Price per Square Metre Move | The change in the estimated pound amount per square metre from the comparison period. |
| Price YoY | The percentage change in that price estimate over a year. |
| Sales Move | The change in the number of eligible sales between the two rolling windows. |
| Sales YoY | The percentage change in the rolling sales count from a year earlier. |
These are movements in area-level measures. A change in the homes trading, evidence coverage or revised registrations can affect the figures as well as genuine market changes. The sales index is not a measure of listings, time on market or buyer enquiries.
Nearby Markets
Nearby Markets compares the report's authority with the other authorities named in the section. The reference row identifies the subject area; it is not a regional average.
The property-type selector applies to each authority. Price per square metre compares the selected type. Monthly rent and 2-Bed GIY compare two-bedroom homes of that type. This aligns broad segments, but does not make the locations, individual homes or local stock identical.
Gap (%) expresses a price or rent difference relative to the subject authority. A positive gap means the neighbouring authority is higher; a negative gap means it is lower. Changing the selected measure changes the meaning of the gap column.
Gap (pp) expresses a yield difference in percentage points. For illustration, a 5% yield compared with a 4% reference is a one-percentage-point gap, not a 1% proportional increase. The reference row is labelled Reference rather than treated as another independent comparison.
Check the dates as well as the segments. A rent comparison can be more recent than a capital or pricing comparison, and yield can combine separately dated inputs.
Local Activity Maps
Where included, Local Activity shows patterns within the authority using Lower Layer Super Output Areas, or LSOAs. These are statistical neighbourhood areas, not postcode boundaries, individual developments or user-drawn catchments.
| Map measure | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sales Volume | Eligible recorded sales in the selected small area and period. |
| Sales per 1,000 Households | Recorded sales relative to the area's household count, allowing differently sized areas to be compared. |
| Price per Square Metre | Estimated local transaction pricing per square metre of usable floor space. |
| Evidence Records | The supporting records identified for the displayed estimate. This need not equal the area's total sales count. |
| Mapped Areas | The number of small areas represented in the view, not the number of sales or properties. |
Sales per 1,000 households describes trading intensity. It does not mean that the same percentage of households moved, since transactions and households are different populations. Nor does it measure how quickly a home will sell.
Darker shading means a higher value of the selected measure. It does not mean a better area, greater affluence, lower risk or stronger investment prospects. Use the displayed scale; colour alone cannot establish that two different maps have the same values.
Select a small area to inspect its figures and its difference from the authority reference. Whole Authority returns to the broader summary. Leading Small Areas ranks the displayed metric, not overall neighbourhood quality. A small-area price estimate may cover a different mix of homes from a property-type-specific authority estimate.
Small-area maps are report views where supplied. Their presence does not imply that the local-authority Data Bank API accepts LSOA codes or provides an equivalent neighbourhood dataset.
Making Comparable Comparisons
Before comparing two figures, match the measure, property type, bedroom group where relevant, observation period and evidence window. For comparisons between editions, also check the data release and geographical definition.
Avoid treating all price movement as appreciation of an unchanged home, all sales growth as rising demand, or high trading intensity as guaranteed liquidity. The report is most informative when pricing, activity and evidence coverage are read together.