The UK property market beat two leading cryptocurrencies in return on investment during 2022, according to research by Nested.

The analysis shows that the average UK house price was £285,396 last year, up 10.4% versus the average of £258,430 seen in 2021.

In contrast, the average value of Bitcoin fell from $47,000 in 2021 to just $27,796, a year-on-year drop of 40.9% in value. At the same time, Ethereum fell by 31.5% to $1,938 in 2022, down from $2,830 in 2021.

However, when looking at the average annual rate of growth seen over the last three years, UK house prices trail these alternative investment options.

During the pandemic property market boom (2020 to 2022), UK house prices increased at an average of 7.4% every year. In the same period, Bitcoin saw a 103% average annual increase, while Ethereum climbed by 263% on average each year.

However, unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, UK house prices have seen consistent positive growth, rather than the erratic ups and downs associated with cryptocurrencies.

Alice Bullard, managing director at Nested, commented: “As our research demonstrates, the UK property market continues to be one of the best areas of investment available, bringing a far more consistent return compared to the erratic offering of cryptocurrencies. In fact, we’ve never seen the UK property sector brought to its knees by one misinformed tweet, which says it all really.

“Hardly surprising then, that it can prove such a rewarding and lucrative industry in which to work and that so many of us choose to dedicate our careers within the property sector.”