DATA: ONS reported CPI rose 3.4% in year to Dec 2025
This was slightly higher than the 3.2% reported for the previous month as “Alcohol and tobacco, and transport made the largest upward contributions to the monthly change”.
DATA: ONS published UK labour market overview
They report “The early estimate of payrolled employees for December 2025 decreased by 184,000 (0.6%) on the year” and “Annual growth in employees’ average earnings in Great Britain for regular earnings (excluding bonuses) was 4.5%, and for total earnings (including bonuses), was 4.7% in September to November 2025”.
DATA: Rightmove reported asking prices rose 0.5% in year to Jan 2026
They report(PDF) “the largest ever price increase seen in the month of January, and the largest of any month since June 2015” in their non-seasonally adjusted index. They also report “the number of available homes for sale is the highest it’s been at this time of year since 2014, and with a third of existing homes for sale seeing a price reduction, new sellers should be wary of being too optimistic on price”.
DATA: ONS/HMLR reported UK house prices rose 2.5% in year to Nov 2025
They report “Of the English regions, annual house price inflation was highest in the North East, where prices increased by 6.8% in the 12 months to November 2025. London was the English region with the lowest annual inflation, where prices decreased by 1.2%”.
DATA: ONS reported UK monthly rents increased 4.0% in year to Dec 2025
They report “In England, private rents annual inflation was highest in the North East (7.9%), and lowest in London (2.1%), in the 12 months to December 2025”.
DATA: UK Finance published buy-to-let lending data for Q3 2025
They report the number of new buy-to-let mortgages for house purchase was 4.1% higher than the same quarter in 2024 while the value of those loans was 8.2% higher. They also report “The average gross buy-to-let rental yield for the UK in Q3 2025 was 7.15 per cent, compared with 6.93 per cent in the same quarter in the previous year”.
DATA: Scottish Gov published housing market review for Q4 2025
The report collates “a range of previously published statistics on the latest trends in the Scottish housing market”.
DATA: ONS published Stamp Duty Land Tax receipts for Dec 2025
The ONS data on the total value of stamp duty land tax receipts (for both residential and commercial property) is a good short-term leading indicator for transaction volumes. The latest data for Dec shows a 13% increase compared to the same month in 2024.
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 3.32% on the 21st Jan compared to 3.27% on the 14th Jan.
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 210,227 for the week commencing 12th Jan, similar to the 210,201 total for the previous week.
POLICY: Government published Warm Homes Plan
It “will deliver £15 billion of public investment, roll out upgrades to up to 5 million homes that could save them hundreds on energy bills and help to lift up to a million families out of fuel poverty by 2030”. The plan is “plan for all types of households, with targeted interventions for those on low incomes; upgrades for social housing; new protections for renters; and a universal offer for all households to upgrade homes if and when they want”.
POLICY: MHCLG launched new build design guidance
The guidance “sets a clear benchmark for well-designed neighbourhoods, ensuring new developments are well-connected to local shops and services”. The consultation is here.
POLICY: Scottish Government launched More Homes Scotland agency
They intend to “to establish a new national housing agency with a focus on simplicity, scale and speed to enable the delivery of housing of all types” and will focus on “large-scale affordable housing projects; rural and island housing; acquiring, preparing and releasing land; enabling infrastructure work to unlock stalled sites; and closer working with the Scottish National Investment Bank to make best use of private finance”.
REPORT: GLA published Housing in London report
The very useful report summarises “key patterns and trends across a wide range of topics relevant to housing in the capital” and they publish the underlying data.
REPORT(PDF): Molior reported on residential development in London
Their analysis, which covers developments with 20+ private homes, finds “Work has stopped on 5,009 homes at 51 development sites”, “Sales rates are weak across every absorption segment”, and “Unsold homes exist across all price points”. See Chart of the Week for more.
REPORT: HBF reported on “The Affordability Gap”
They report “The gap between what prospective buyers can realistically afford to borrow and the actual cost of purchasing a home has widened significantly in recent years” and suggest “It is therefore imperative that policymakers develop and implement measures that support the demand side of the market through improved access to mortgage finance and targeted assistance for first-time buyers”.
REPORT: Bank of England reported on green mortgage market innovation
They fund that Energy Performance Certificates “become pricing-relevant in 2018, with lenders starting to offer pricing discounts for loans to buy properties with higher energy efficiency” and “detect considerable green discounts, which reach up to 15 basis points in 2022”.
REPORT: Resolution Foundation on the Government’s growth framework
Unfortunately, their analysis of new housing supply is compromised by using data that undercounts delivery, especially in urban areas. They suggest “Ministers should finalise the National Planning Policy Framework, stabilise the Building Safety Regulator without undermining safety, and establish development corporations with the financial firepower required to deliver new towns”.
REPORT: Labour Together reported on fixing infrastructure planning
The report recommends moving from “an adversarial planning system that incentivises pre-emptive risk aversion” to a “collaborative planning system” where “the state would be able to inform developers what the most serious objections to their plans are likely to be and how they might best be mitigated or eliminated”.
REPORT: Propertymark published housing insight report for Nov 2025
They report “a market that remains resilient but measured, with steady new listings, slightly softer sales, and easing inflation, offering cautious optimism”.
REPORT: Knight Frank published build-to-rent market update for Q4 2025
They report “A strong final quarter pushed annual investment in 2025 past the £4.7 billion mark, down on the record-breaking 2024 but ahead of long-term trends” and “The UK’s BTR stock now stands at 158,205 complete homes, 16% higher than at the end of 2024”.
REPORT: JLL reported on the prime central London market in Q4 2025
They report “average prices down 7.3% at the end of the year, with rents finishing the year marginally higher (+0.3%)” but the “market shows signs of renewed momentum for 2026, with Budget fears and political turmoil subsiding”.
REPORT: Nationwide reported improved first-time buyer affordability
They report “With price growth well below the rate of earnings growth and a steady decline in mortgage rates, affordability constraints have eased somewhat over the past year, helping to underpin buyer demand” though this is based on average earnings. A comparison of average earnings and actual single borrower first-time buyer incomes finds “London stands out as the area with the greatest divergence, with actual first-time buyer earnings (for a single borrower) around 45% higher than average incomes in the capital”. Meanwhile, they have also announced they will lend up to six times income but this is limited to “a minimum annual income of £75,000 for sole applicants, or £100,000 for joint applications”.
NEWS: Zoopla reported “Half of homes increased in value over 2025”
They report increasing values for “half (15.2m) of all UK homes increasing by an average of £9,900” but “A third of UK homes registered falls in value over 2025, largely across Southern England where home values are adjusting to more price sensitive demand”.
CORPORATE: Harworth Group published Year End Trading Update
They report “Headline sales of £52.0m across 1,112 freehold plots at an overall discount to June book values, reflecting prevailing market pressures” and “The well-reported challenges across the residential market persist, with a lack of demand side stimulus and ongoing cost and regulatory pressures”.
Chart of the Week
The GLA’s latest Housing in London report provides a breakdown on the method of sale for large developments in London using Molior data. Unfortunately, it only goes up to Q2 2025 but, fortunately, the latest Molior report(PDF) provides us with the latest data. It shows that, while sales have picked up since the low of Q2 2025 thanks to an increase in build to rent activity, the overall number of sales is below historic levels and well below those required to meet the government’s housebuilding target for the capital. The city continues to struggle with a short-term demand side crisis as lower sales feed through to lower starts and lower planning applications.
