DATA: Nationwide reported UK house prices rose 3.9% in year to Mar 2025
They report house prices were unchanged compared to the previous year and “the market is likely to remain a little soft in the coming months since activity will have been brought forward to avoid the additional tax obligations – a pattern typically observed in the wake of the end of stamp duty holidays”. See Chart of the Week for more on the regional trends.
DATA: BoE reported 65,500 approvals for house purchase in Feb 2025
The number of mortgage approvals for house purchase was 0.8% lower than the previous month but 8% higher than the same month last year. Approvals for remortgage were 12% lower than last year.
DATA: BoE published effective mortgage rate data for Feb 2025
They report the average rate on new advances (both purchase and remortgage) was 4.54%, slightly higher than the 4.52% the previous month. The average rate on outstanding balances increased to 3.87% from 3.82% the previous month.
DATA: VOA published local reference rents and shadow list of rents
The releases cover local reference rents by BRMA and property size for March 2025 and the list of rents used to calculate Local Housing Allowance for April 2025.
DATA: UK Finance published quarterly Buy-to-Let lending insight
They report “In Q4 2024 there were 52,648 new buy-to-let loans advanced in the UK, worth £9.6 billion” and “This was up 39.2 per cent by number (47.2 per cent by value) compared with the same quarter in the previous year”, though lending is still below pre-2023 levels. They also report “The average gross buy-to-let rental yield for the UK in Q4 2024 was 7 per cent, compared with 6.74 per cent in the same quarter in the previous year”.
DATA: ONS to focus on core statistics and surveys
As part of its new strategic business plan, it will prioritise “the highest quality core economic and population statistics and increased work to improve survey response rates”.
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 3.89% on the 2nd Apr compared to 3.97% on the 26th Mar.
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 210,119 for the week commencing 24th Mar, up from 209,101 the previous week.
POLICY: Scottish Gov reopened Open Market Shared Equity Scheme
It is “available to people across Scotland who can’t afford the full price of a home from groups which include social renters, disabled people, people aged 60 and over, members of the armed forces and veterans” and “Applicants can apply for between 60% and 90% of the property’s value without having to purchase it in full, with the Scottish Government owning the remaining share”.
REPORT: HCLG Committee on children in temporary accommodation
They report “in the last five years temporary accommodation has been a contributing factor to the deaths of at least 74 children, of whom 58 were under the age of one”. They also report “Some local authorities are not taking sufficient account of the needs of children and families when making decisions on temporary accommodation placements” and “Many local authorities do not carry out any regular inspections of the conditions in the accommodation they use to house families”. They call for the Government to publish its strategy for ending homelessness before the summer recess.
REPORT: Scottish Gov on housing insecurity and hidden homelessness
“The research highlighted the circumstances and pathways leading to hidden homelessness. Drivers include structural factors such as poverty and inequality, as well as social and interpersonal factors including intergenerational homelessness, weak social networks, challenging family dynamics, poor health and wellbeing, and abuse and exploitation.”
REPORT: Shelter published collection of essays on social housing
The essays “include rigorous analyses of how the housing emergency is damaging our economy and offer unique insights into how social housing stimulates productive investment and an efficient labour market”.
REPORT: Centre for Cities reported on hybrid working and the high street
They report “Workers now do a smaller share of their spending in city centres than they did in 2019” but “this has not led to a boom in local spending”. They also report “Thursday has become the new Friday for the post-work drink in central London”.
REPORT: HBF reported on Biodiversity Net Gain
They report the main outstanding issues are “Insufficient resources and staffing within local authorities”, “A disproportionate burden on SME home builders”, “Inconsistent application and unclear guidance in certain areas”, “An underdeveloped market for off-site biodiversity units”, “A lack of suitable external ecological expertise for home builders”, and “Disincentives to develop brownfield sites”.
REPORT: IPPR reported on how housing issues vary by region
They report housing challenges in affordability, tenure, and quality vary by region and “To improve housing in England, an understanding of how issues manifest differently across regions is essential”.
REPORT(PDF): Crisis & Health Equals reported on rents and health
They report “Fewer than three in every 100 privately rented properties (2.5%) listed in England are affordable for people on housing benefits (Local Housing Allowance)” and “people on low incomes may be forced to sleep rough or stay in poor quality temporary accommodation due to the growing gap between housing benefit and average rent costs, with devastating effects on their health”.
REPORT: Savills reported on the Single-Family Build-to-Rent market
They report “£2.5 billion was invested into UK SFH in 2024, up from £2.0 billion in 2023” and “There are now 14,000 completed SFH homes, with a further 13,000 under construction”.
REPORT: IFS on housing wealth, marital stability and labour supply
They find that “positive house price shocks, in combination with high pLTI levels (capturing indebtedness of the household relative to the primary earner’s income) increases divorce risk, whilst households with high LTV levels experience null or even slightly decreased effects on their probability to divorce”.
CORPORATE: PRS REIT published Interim Results
They report “occupancy at 96% (or 97% including homes reserved for applicants who had passed referencing and paid deposits)” and “like-for-like rental growth for the year to 31 December 2024 was 10.8% (31 December 2023: 11.1%) – reflecting renewals at c.10% and lets to new tenants at c.12%”.
CORPORATE: Travis Perkins published Full Year Results
They report “2024 was a challenging year for the Group with revenue of £4,607m down (4.7)% year-on-year, driven by the Merchanting segment through a combination of price deflation, reduced demand across the UK construction market and increased competitive intensity. They also report “The Group has experienced a mixed start to 2025. Trading conditions have continued to be challenging in our Merchanting businesses with pricing now stabilised but volumes in modest decline”.
Chart of the Week
The latest Nationwide house price index continues to highlight the spatial variation in how different parts of the UK have been affected by higher mortgage rates. The immediate impact was broadly similar, with prices falling by around 6% from their peak in 2022. However, the recovery since then has been far more diverse. Northern Ireland has recorded the fastest growth, with house prices now nearly 12% higher than their 2022 peak. Prices in the North (Nationwide use old regional definitions) and the North West are up around 4%. However, house prices in East Anglia and the South West are still 5% below their previous peak, highlighting how more expensive markets were dependent on low mortgage rates.
