Core Formula
The site estimates how many ounces of gold would have been required to purchase the average-priced property in a given region and year. It does this by dividing the average property price by the average gold price per troy ounce for the same year.
property price in gold ounces=average property pricegold price per troy ounce
The result is an estimate of how many troy ounces of gold would have been needed to buy the average-priced property in that region for that year.
Property Data
For UK markets, the site uses the UK House Price Index and HM Land Registry average property price data, where available. All Properties uses the official UK HPI All property types series. Flats / Apartments uses the official UK HPI Flat/Maisonette series where that property-type data is available.
PPIG does not currently provide a Houses option because the UK HPI does not publish a standalone Houses category. The site does not combine detached, semi-detached, and terraced data into its own derived houses dataset.
New York City is handled differently. It uses median recorded residential sale price data rather than the average property price methodology used for UK regions. As a result, New York City comparisons should be interpreted as a market-specific historical comparison rather than a direct like-for-like comparison with the UK methodology.
Different markets may use different official or market-standard data sources depending on availability, coverage, and the way local property markets report prices.
Gold Price Data
The site uses published historical gold price data from external sources. Annual average gold prices are used throughout the site and are expressed in the same currency as the underlying property data.
Limitations
- Average and median prices are not the same, and markets using one measure may not be perfectly comparable with markets using the other.
- UK and international markets may not be perfectly comparable because local data collection, property types, and transaction records can differ.
- UK Flats / Apartments coverage begins where the official UK HPI Flat/Maisonette data exists for the selected region.
- Property data may include different property types depending on the source.
- Gold prices fluctuate daily, while the historical charts use annual averages.
- Inflation, taxes, maintenance costs, rent, mortgage costs, and transaction costs are not included unless explicitly stated.
Data Sources
Educational Use Only
Property Priced In Gold is for historical comparison and educational analysis. It is not financial advice, investment advice, tax advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell property, gold, or any other asset.