DATA: ONS estimated monthly GDP rose 1.2% in year to Apr 2026
They report this was unchanged from the previous month’s estimate despite a 0.1% fall on the previous month thanks to “a 0.2% fall in services, which was partially offset by a 0.1% rise in construction”. This data will be revised in the future.
DATA: ONS reported construction output rose 0.1% in Apr 2026
They report “The increase in monthly output in April 2026 came solely from an increase in repair and maintenance, which grew by 0.6%, while new work fell by 0.3%”.
DATA: ONS published national balance sheet preliminary estimates, 2026
They report “Non-produced assets accounted for a negative 0.1 percentage-point contribution to the growth of the UK’s net worth, falling by 0.2% to £6.9 trillion” and “This was largely attributed to a fall of 0.2% in the value of land underlying buildings and structures”.
DATA: ONS published family spending data for 2024-25
The release provides “Average weekly household expenditure on goods and services in the UK, by age, income, economic status, socio-economic class, household composition and region”. See Chart of the Week for more.
DATA: BoE published Mortgage Lenders & Administrators stats for Q1 2026
The release provides lots of useful data on the UK mortgage market. We cover it in a Digging Deeper slide deck and the data is also published by the FCA but they haven’t updated the main table from last quarter.
DATA: FCA published Mortgage Charter uptake data
They report “In Q1 2026, 499,223 mortgages locked into a new deal up to 6 months ahead of maturity; this compares to 361,216 mortgages in the previous quarter, Q4 2025”.
DATA: BoE published inflation attitudes survey for May 2026
They report that when “Asked to give the current rate of inflation, respondents gave a median answer of 5%, up from 4.6% in February 2026”.
DATA: Registers of Scotland published annual property market report
They report that for 2025-26: “The median price of a residential property in Scotland was £198,000, an increase of 4% from £190,000 in 2024-25” and “The total number of residential property sales in Scotland was 104,408, an increase of 5% on 2024-25”.
DATA(PDF): Zoopla reported asking rents rose 2.1% in year to Apr 2026
They report “Rents are rising at 5%+ in affordable areas, with rents below £750 pcm” while “Those with rents over £1,250 pcm are rising at or below the UK average”. They also report “London is the only region with rising rental demand (+6%), driven by higher mortgage rates keeping renters in the market”.
DATA: ONS published dwelling stock by tenure for the UK, 2024
Please note that this data appears to be based on the data that undercounts dwellings in Wales.
DATA: Financial Market Expectations For BoE’s Bank Rate
The chart provides a summary for the expected future level of Bank Rate based on daily data. The One Year figure was 4.39% on the 10th Jun compared to 4.36% on the 3rd Jun.
DATA: New Build Energy Performance Certificates, England
This chart provides a summary of the number of EPCs on new build properties, a useful leading indicator for net additions. The 52-week rolling total was 210,017 for the week commencing 1st Jun, similar to the 210,033 total for the previous week.
POLICY: FCA launched mortgage rule review consultation
Proposed rule changes include: “Reducing barriers for lenders to offer flexible repayments for people with variable income, like the self-employed, and lend to those paid in foreign currency.”, “Encouraging lenders to assess affordability based on a person’s full and current situation, rather than automatically excluding people because of minor or past credit history issues.”, “Making it easier for older homeowners to unlock wealth built up in their property by updating affordability guidance for retirement interest-only mortgages.”, and “Updating rules on interest-only (or part interest-only) mortgages to give lenders more flexibility, while ensuring most borrowers have a clear plan to repay (unless they’re borrowing a smaller amount).”
POLICY: Regulator of Social Housing call for evidence
They will consult on revised economic standards next year but they state: “Before we do that, we want to start a conversation with our stakeholders about the changes, challenges and tensions that exist in the social housing sector” and “This document sets out for wider discussion our early thinking about how we could future proof our economic regulation to help the sector deliver more and better social homes”.
REPORT: HCLG Committee reported on the affordability of home ownership
They conclude “The affordability of home ownership is a complicated and multivariant problem, with no easy or straightforward solutions. Demand-side solutions cannot work in isolation (as they often counterproductively increase house prices as a secondary effect), but supply-side solutions also are not sufficient (homebuilding cannot happen at the necessary speed to have a significant effect).”
REPORT: BoE published Agents’ summary of business conditions
On housing, they report “A more pronounced regional picture for house sales is developing, with London much weaker than other regions, especially the devolved nations where demand has fared better. At the higher end of the housing market, price reductions are necessary to achieve sales. In general, buyers are taking longer to commit and cancellations have picked up.”. They also report “Demand is weaker in the new build market than in the secondary market, but the same regional picture applies, and development has all but stalled in London. House builders are offering fewer incentives as margins are under more pressure owing to rising build costs.”
REPORT(PDF): RICS published residential market survey for May 2026
They report “Sales activity indicators still clearly negative, but some measures are showing signs of stabilisation” that suggest “the pace of deterioration is no longer intensifying”. They also report “House prices continue to inch lower at the aggregate level” and “Near-term sentiment remains cautious, while the twelve-month outlook sees marginal improvement”.
REPORT: SMF reported on a state alternative to the Bank of Mum and Dad
They suggest “The Citizens Advance is a radical policy proposal that gives younger people the choice to receive the first year of their state pension early as a lump sum” which would be “in exchange for postponing the point at which they start receiving their state pension”.
REPORT: IPPR reported on immigration status and homelessness
They report “Around a quarter of people rough sleeping are non-UK nationals” and “The number of refugee households owed a homelessness duty has increased sevenfold since 2018/19”. The report “outlines how the challenges they face play out in practice”.
REPORT: NHC reported on unlocking 500,000 homes in the north
They suggest “Housing-led regeneration can unlock at least 500,000 good quality homes across the North of England” by “reviving struggling high streets with over 100,000, new homes in town and city centres, building 320,000 homes on brownfield land and renewing or replacing 100,000 social homes in need of regeneration”.
REPORT: Housing Forum reported on procurement processes
They report “councils and housing associations are paying more than private developers to build new homes due to slow and overly complex procurement processes”. They suggest organisations should “Standardise procurement processes”, “Shift mindsets from risk transfer to risk management”, and “Speed up procurement”.
REPORT: RCOT reported on building health into homes
The Royal College of Occupational Therapists report “Poor housing is driving avoidable pressure across health and social care services and damaging people’s health” and “sets out how housing must be recognised and used as a core part of health and care”.
REPORT(PDF): IMLA reported on “How lenders fund fixed rate mortgage”
The report explains why mortgage rates are closely linked to interest rate swaps and not Bank Rate. They have also published a shorter version of the report(PDF).
REPORT: Shelter reported on the slow pace of social rent delivery
They report “Building social homes at current speed will take 119 years to clear housing waiting lists” and suggest “Nothing short of a revolution in social housebuilding is required, including a radical increase in the delivery of social rent homes by local authorities”.
NEWS: Rightmove on first-time buyer house price “hotspots”
They report “All the fastest-growing areas for price remain below £170,000, as demand continues to be high for more affordable homes” – the geographic distribution of house price growth continues to reflect a late housing market cycle pattern.
CORPORATE: Bellway published Trading Update
They report “Trading in the early part of the spring selling season showed a marked improvement compared to autumn 2025, however we have seen a moderation in customer demand in April and May in response to the recent rise in mortgage rates” and “Current reservation rates generally remain above the levels in the first half of the financial year, with incentive usage averaging around 5%”. They also report “The private reservation rate decreased by 6.2% to an average of 151 per week (2025 – 161). In line with our strategy, there was a good contribution from bulk sales and the private reservation rate per outlet per week was 0.65 (2025 – 0.67). The private reservation rate excluding bulk sales was 0.58 (2025 – 0.61).”
CORPORATE: MJ Gleeson published Update on Gleeson Land
They report “Gleeson Land has been extensively engaged in the sale of a site which would account for approximately 50% of the total forecast plots to be sold in FY2026” and “Whilst significant progress has been made in respect of this site, the transaction is unlikely to complete in the current financial year”.
Chart of the Week
The latest ONS family spending data provides a wealth of information, including for mortgage lenders who use it to calibrate their affordability models. For this week’s chart, I’ve taken the family spending data by tenure (table A32) and presented it on a per-person rather than per-household basis. It’s still not directly comparable given the differences in household incomes across the different tenures but provides a useful comparison of relative spending than per household. The most immediate finding from the chart is the unsurprising fact that private renters spend a lot more on housing, fuel and power even when housing benefit etc is accounted for. This then leaves them with less available for spending on recreation & culture, restaurants & hotels, and other miscellaneous goods & services. Meanwhile, outright owners spend the most on food per person – maybe they should cut back on avocados.
