DATA: ONS estimated monthly GDP rose 1.3% in year to Aug 2025
The data shows monthly GDP was 5.6% above its pre-pandemic peak in January 2020.
DATA: ONS published UK labour market overview
They report “The early estimate of payrolled employees for September 2025 decreased by 100,000 (0.3%) on the year, and by 10,000 (0.0%) on the month, to 30.3 million” and “The estimated number of vacancies in the UK fell by 9,000 (1.3%) on the quarter, to 717,000, in July to September 2025”. They also report “Annual growth in employees’ average earnings in Great Britain for regular earnings (excluding bonuses) was 4.7%, and for total earnings (including bonuses) was 5.0% in June to August 2025”.
DATA: ONS published construction output data for Aug 2025
They report “Total construction output is estimated to have grown by 0.3% in the three months to August 2025” and “Over the three-month period, new work fell by 0.4%, and repair and maintenance grew by 1.3%”.
DATA: BoE published credit conditions survey for Q3 2025
The survey shows “Lenders reported that the availability of secured credit to households increased in the three months to end-August 2025 (Q3) and was also expected to increase over the next three months to end-November 2025 (Q4)”. It also shows “Lenders reported that demand for secured lending for house purchase was unchanged in Q3, and was also expected to be unchanged in Q4” while “Demand for secured lending for remortgaging increased in Q3, and was also expected to increase in Q4”.
DATA: ONS population estimates by marital status and living arrangements
They report “Married or civil partnered remained the most common legal partnership status among the population aged 16 years and over in England and Wales” but “this proportion has decreased from 51.5% in 2014 to 49.5% in 2024”.
DATA: MHCLG published statutory homelessness stats for Q2 2025
The data for England shows “86,370 households had an initial assessment, down 6.7% from April to June 2024”. It also shows “36,160 households were assessed as being threatened with homelessness and therefore owed a prevention duty which is down 4.6% from the same quarter last year” and “42,470 households were initially assessed as homeless and therefore owed a relief duty, down 9.4% from the same quarter last year”.
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 3.51% on the 15th Oct compared to 3.64% on the 8th Oct.
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 207,464 for the week commencing 6th Oct, similar to the 207,118 the previous week.
POLICY: HMT/MHCLG additions to Planning & Infrastructure Bill
The proposed changes include “Ministers will be able to issue ‘holding directions’ to stop councils refusing planning permission whilst they consider using their ‘call-in’ powers”, “Stopping planning permissions from being timed out for approved major housing schemes facing lengthy judicial reviews”, and “Allowing Natural England to streamline its role by freeing it up to make sensible choices on when to provide advice to local authorities”.
REPORT(PDF): Molior reported on residential development in London
They report “Sales rates are weak across all local markets and at every price point” while “Low sales rates are directly contributing to fewer construction starts”. They suggest “The loss of off-plan investors over the past decade has been a major factor in London’s residential development decline”. See Chart of the Week for more on their market coverage.
REPORT: CPS reported on housebuilding in London
They report “the capital is building at less than a quarter of the per capita rate of the rest of England” but the analysis is compromised by the use of the MHCLG housebuilding data that undercounts starts and completions in London by around half.
REPORT(PDF): LPDF and Savills on the need for a new equity loan scheme
They report “Sales rates over the summer of 2025 have reached their lowest levels since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC)” and suggest “The introduction of a financial support scheme for buyers of new homes could have a significant impact both on new housing delivery and on homeownership”.
REPORT: Key Cities reported on housebuilding in cities and urban areas
“The report examines the main barriers to delivery, such as financing challenges, planning constraints, and the acute shortage of affordable and social housing. It also highlights practical, replicable solutions already being implemented by Key Cities members, alongside collective recommendations to ensure that future housing delivery is not only swift but also viable, high-quality, and inclusive.”
REPORT(PDF): IMLA published market briefing
They report “The profile of buy-to-let lending this year mirrors that of the wider market, with a strong recovery of house purchase lending since the lull following the end of the stamp duty concession and rising remortgage activity”.
REPORT: Cushman Wakefield reported on the student housing market
They report “University rental growth (4.44%) outstrips private sector (1.16%) for first time in seven years” and “Rental growth in the lowest quality stock outstrips that of the highest quality (lowest quality +4.14%, highest quality -0.98%)”. Sign up is required to download.
REPORT: TwentyCi published property and homemover report for Q3 2025
They report “During 2025, over 1.4 million properties have been listed for sale. This is 3.7% higher than 2024.” and “We have now exceeded 1 million properties with a Sale Agreed in 2025. This is 5.1% greater than 2024.”. Sign up is required to download.
REPORT(PDF): Age UK on the shortage of housing for an ageing population
They report “Larger numbers of older people are moving than sometimes assumed” but “Getting more to do so will be challenging, and many will age in homes they move to when younger”. They warn “There is a huge shortage of suitable housing for an ageing population” and “some groups are affected disproportionately”.
REPORT: Centre for Ageing Better on “Unequal access, unsafe homes”
They report “We are facing a later life housing crisis” with “Over 2.3 million people aged 55 and over live in homes that are cold, damp, or unsafe” and “Within this, evidence shows that racially minoritised communities are disproportionately affected”.
REPORT: HoC Library reported on children and the built environment
They report “In England one in eight children (one in five children in London) live in a household with no access to a private or shared garden” and “there is a substantial difference in the numbers of children regularly spending time outside between the most affluent and most deprived areas of the country”.
REPORT: Centre for Cities reported on productivity in the UK’s big cities
They report “While the big cities outside the capital are outpacing the rest of the country, London’s productivity is stagnating” and even after adjusting for data issues, it “still shows strong productivity growth in some of the big cities and convergence between London and other big cities”.
REPORT: Savills reported on prime London house prices
They report house prices in “prime central London” have fallen 4.7% in the year to Q3 2025 and “The most discretionary market, above £10 million, has seen more significant price falls”.
REPORT: JLL reported on prime central London house prices
They report house prices in “prime central London” have fallen 7.8% in the year to Q3 2025.
CORPORATE: Bellway published Full Year Results
They report “The private reservation rate per outlet per week, including bulk sales, of 0.57 was 11.8% higher than the prior year (2024 – 0.51)” and “The private reservation rate excluding bulk sales increased by 6.1% to 0.52 (2024 – 0.49)”. They also report “In the ten weeks since 1 August, the private reservation rate per outlet per week excluding bulk sales was 0.48 (1 August to 6 October 2024 – 0.49)” and “The private reservation rate including bulk sales was 0.51 (1 August to 6 October 2024 – 0.60)”.
CORPORATE: Travis Perkins published Q3 Trading Update
They report “like-for-like sales up 1.8% as actions taken to sharpen the competitive proposition in the Merchanting segment have improved sales performance, notably in the General Merchant business” but “Trading in the Specialist Merchants’ markets remains subdued”.
Chart of the Week
This week’s chart of the week is not one of mine but it’s an important one that I’ve used a lot this week. You’ll have to open the GLA’s PDF at the link below (or here) and go to chart 6 on slide 7. The chart in question compares the Molior data on housing starts, sales, and completions to the number of new build Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) in London. The Molior data only covers schemes with at least 20 private homes while the EPC data is much more comprehensive but also includes conversions etc. The chart in question shows that Molior only covers about half the London housebuilding market. This suggests that Molior data is very useful for highlighting trends and issues in the market but care should be taken when using their absolute numbers due to this undercount.
