How our data works

Property Compass does not rely on black-box aggregators. Every price, yield, rent index, and area metric you see on the platform is computed from an identified UK government or authoritative public dataset. This page explains exactly what we use and how fresh it is.

Why this matters

Most property platforms pull from a single commercial aggregator and re-badge the output. You see a number; you do not see where it came from or how stale it is. That is fine for a browse but not for a purchase decision. We built Property Compass to show you the source and freshness of every figure so you can weigh the evidence the same way a professional would.

Our data sources

HM Land Registry — Price Paid Data

The official register of every residential property sale in England and Wales. We aggregate transactions by postcode district and property type to produce median prices, transaction counts, and year-on-year price change. Source: gov.uk Price Paid Data.

HM Land Registry — House Price Index (HPI)

The official monthly house-price index for the UK, maintained jointly by HM Land Registry, ONS, Registers of Scotland, and Land and Property Services Northern Ireland. We surface local-authority-level HPI values and annual change. Source: gov.uk UK HPI.

Office for National Statistics — Rent Index

The ONS index of private rental prices by region. We use this for rent trends and for computing gross yields against Land Registry sale prices. Source: ONS Private Rent and House Prices, UK.

Office for National Statistics — Population & regional data

Population counts, affordability ratios, and regional statistics underpin our area-screening panels. Source: ons.gov.uk.

EPC Open Data

Energy Performance Certificate data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. We use median EPC bands as part of the investability picture for an area. Source: epc.opendatacommunities.org.

PropertyData

Specialist UK property analytics (demand, yields, crime, flood, council tax, planning). Used where a government dataset is not available at sufficient granularity. PropertyData is clearly labelled wherever it appears so you know which metrics come from a commercial analytics provider and which come from government sources.

How we present freshness

Every data panel shows a small coloured dot alongside the source badge:

• Green — updated in the last 30 days
• Amber — updated between 30 and 90 days ago
• Red — older than 90 days or not yet ingested

If a panel is red, treat its figures as indicative until the next ingestion run. Government datasets are published on their own cadences — Land Registry Price Paid is monthly, HPI is monthly in arrears, ONS rent is monthly. Property Compass ingests the latest published data on a weekly schedule.

What we do NOT do

• We do not re-badge a single commercial aggregator as our own data.
• We do not hide the provenance of a number behind a brand name.
• We do not claim freshness we cannot demonstrate — if it is red, it is red.

Corrections and feedback

If a number on the platform looks wrong, tell us — we will trace it back to the source file and either explain the gap or fix the ingestion. Contact: propertycompass.co.uk/contact.