Watford · report
People and new homes in Watford
In 2025 the population grew by 842 while 260 homes were finished: 3.2 new residents for every new home.
- New residents per new home, 2025
- 3.2
- Population change, 2025
- +842
Population change and homes finished in Watford
The population's yearly change, net migration plus births minus deaths (ONS), against homes finished (MHCLG and the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland statistics).
Population change
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| Year | Population change |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 842 |
| 2024 | 1,598 |
| 2023 | 2,021 |
| 2022 | 681 |
| 2021 | -345 |
| 2020 | -316 |
| 2019 | -15 |
| 2018 | 205 |
| 2017 | -12 |
| 2016 | 537 |
| 2015 | 873 |
| 2014 | 1,856 |
| 2013 | 2,217 |
| 2012 | 1,976 |
Homes finished
Show the numbers
| Year | Homes finished |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 260 |
| 2024 | 1,010 |
| 2023 | 440 |
| 2022 | 540 |
| 2021 | 430 |
| 2020 | 480 |
| 2019 | 390 |
| 2018 | 180 |
| 2017 | 250 |
| 2016 | 130 |
| 2015 | 60 |
| 2014 | 170 |
| 2013 | 290 |
| 2012 | 510 |
Year by year
| Year | Net migration | Births minus deaths | Population change | Homes finished |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | +1,161 | +815 | +1,976 | 510 |
| 2013 | +1,449 | +768 | +2,217 | 290 |
| 2014 | +997 | +859 | +1,856 | 170 |
| 2015 | +156 | +717 | +873 | 60 |
| 2016 | −266 | +803 | +537 | 130 |
| 2017 | −695 | +683 | −12 | 250 |
| 2018 | −489 | +694 | +205 | 180 |
| 2019 | −659 | +644 | −15 | 390 |
| 2020 | −839 | +523 | −316 | 480 |
| 2021 | −867 | +522 | −345 | 430 |
| 2022 | +12 | +669 | +681 | 540 |
| 2023 | +1,490 | +531 | +2,021 | 440 |
| 2024 | +973 | +625 | +1,598 | 1,010 |
| 2025 | +193 | +649 | +842 | 260 |
Births, deaths and moves are ONS's mid-year estimates, each year to 30 June, counting moves to and from the rest of the UK and abroad. Homes finished are new homes completed in the calendar year, from each nation's house-building statistics; England's run below its net additions. A home houses a household, not a person: two or three new residents per new home is roughly one home per new household.
Other reports for Watford
Sale prices have an 80% chance of landing between £391,099 and £463,623 by August 2027.
- Expected, August 2027
- £427,361
- Chance of a rise
- 75%
At the average sale price, a home costs £408,659. With 10% down and a 30-year mortgage, the payment is £1,885 a month. The UK sets no cap on the payment; no more than 15% of new mortgages may lend over 4.5 times income.
- Payment, two incomes
- 26%
- Payment, one income
- 52%
Owning and renting the average home cost about the same each month. Owning counts interest, running costs and the return the deposit could earn, at the average sale price; rent is the average of all private tenancies. Repaying the loan is saving, so it is left out.
- Rent per month
- £1,834
- Owning per month
- £1,924
97.4% fewer homes were started in the last 12 months than in an average year of the past decade.
- Started, 12 months
- 10
- Per 1,000 residents
- 0.1
Figures for United Kingdom: Watford has no reliable figures of its own.
Buyers living abroad bought 1.8% of the homes sold here in the four quarters to Q1 2025.
- Bought by buyers abroad, 12 months
- 1.8%
Sale prices have fallen by 3% or more 9 times since 1995. The deepest began in August 2007.
- Deepest fall
- −20.7%
- Recovery from the low
- 52 months
5.0% of the 41,411 homes counted in the 2021 census had nobody usually living in them.
- Empty, 2021 census
- 5.0%
- Empty homes
- 2,070
In 2025, 4% of the homes added came from existing buildings rather than new ones.
- Homes from existing buildings, 2025
- 4%