Housing market: Economic indicators

Economic indicators are quick-read summaries of the latest data focusing on different aspects of the UK economy. The full suite of indicators can be found on the main Economic Indicators page.

House prices

House prices, as measured by the UK House Price Index, were broadly unchanged between March 2025 and March 2026. On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices decreased by 0.2% between February 2026 and March 2026.

House prices changed at different rates across the UK over the year to March 2026. House prices grew fastest in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, although prices in Northern Ireland are measured over a different period (the year to Q1 of 2026). House prices fell fastest in London, the North East and North West.

source: UK House Price Index: data downloads March 2026, index seasonally adjusted

Mortgage approvals

Bank of England data on the number of mortgages approved to finance house purchases are a leading indicator of house sales.

Mortgage approvals for house purchases reached a lockdown-related record low in May 2020. Approvals then increased significantly towards the end of 2020 but are now lower.

Mortgage approvals for house purchases in April 2026 were up 9% on a year ago and up 3% on March 2026.

There were 65,945 mortgage approvals in April 2026, compared with 60,510 in April 2025.

source: Bank of England. Series LPMVTVX

Housing starts and completions

There were 37,300 house building starts (seasonally adjusted) in England in Q4 2025, a 23% increase compared with the previous quarter, and a 24% increase compared with the same quarter of 2024. MHCLG says the higher number of starts is in part due to reforms at the Building Safety Regulator.

There were 36,720 house building completions (seasonally adjusted) in England in Q4 2025, a 9% increase compared with the previous quarter, and a 1% increase compared with the same quarter of 2024.

There was a peak of 68,390 starts in Q2 2023, largely due to house builders bringing forward the start of work to avoid new building regulatory standards. This lowered starts in subsequent quarters. The new standards relate to energy performance and electric vehicle charging points and were introduced from 15 June 2023.

source: MHCLG. Table 222: permanent dwellings started and completed, by tenure, England (quarterly seasonally adjusted)

Next updates

This page is updated when new data is published. The next source updates will be:

• UK house price index (HM Land Registry), 17 June 2026

• Money and credit (Bank of England), 29 June 2026

• House-building (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government), June 2026