Annual rate of growth dips slightly
Latest data from the Halifax has found that house prices rose 0.4% in July, the biggest monthly increase since the start of the year.
The average UK house price is now valued at £298,327, compared to £297,157 last month.
The annual rate of growth softened slightly, at 2.4% in July compared to 2.7% in June.
Northern Ireland continues to be the strongest performing nation or region in the UK, with house prices increasing by 9.3% over the year.
Scotland and Wales also recorded positive house price growth, at 4.7% and 2.7% respectively.
Among English regions, the North West and Yorkshire & the Humber have the highest rate of property price inflation, up by 4.0%.
The South West, London and the South East continue to see moderate growth, with prices rising by just 0.2% and 0.5% respectively.
Construction output continues to decline
The latest S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) has seen total construction activity falling at the steepest pace in July since May 2020.
The PMI was 44.3 in July, down from 48.8 in June; the previous post-Covid low was 44.6 in February 2025.
Respondents cited site delays, lower volumes of incoming new business and weaker customer confidence, with residential building declining in the month after increasing in June.
Meanwhile, the latest quarterly report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) indicates that UK construction is struggling to gather momentum, albeit 12-month expectations point to modest growth ahead.
Planning and regulatory delays were blamed for stifled construction activity, cited by 61% of respondents. Labour shortages were noted by 39% of respondents as also being a key factor.
However, there is some good news: new home planning applications increased by nearly a third in England between April and June 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to Planning Portal operator TerraQuest.
In its latest Planning Portal Application Index for the second quarter of 2025, TerraQuest found that 69,597 new homes were applied for during Q2. This is up from 52,282 in Q2 2024.
There are clear signs of sector recovery, with our data revealing a notable rise in planning activity, contrasting with some of the less positive trends reported further along the development cycle, such as in construction.
Geoff Keal, Chief Executive Officer, TerraQuest
Government announces thousands of new homes on railway land
The Government has announced that it will develop up to 40,000 new homes on surplus railway land over the next ten years.
A new development company, Platform4, will deliver the homes by disposing available rail land, attracting private investment and “accelerating community regeneration”, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Transport.
The new development company is expected to generate an additional £227 million “by delivering at greater pace and scale”, initiating £1 billion worth of new developments across the country.
Developer and supply chain updates
Avant Homes has increased its fire safety remediation provision to over £100m, resulting in an £83m pre-tax loss for the year to 30 June 2025.
The developer, run by former Persimmon boss Jeff Fairburn, completed 1,700 homes last year.
Meanwhile, building materials distributor Travis Perkins announced its half-year results for the six months to 30 June 2025, revealing a -2.1% decline in revenue, and an expected full-year operating profit in line with current market expectations.
Materials giant Ibstock has seen brick sales continue to recover, with revenue rising to £193m from £178m in the six months to 30 June 2025.
However, pre-tax profit dipped from £12m to £8m, as price rises failed to stick in a competitive market.
New figures from the Mineral Products Association have warned that concrete volumes in the second quarter of 2025 hit a 62-year low, fuelling fears of plummeting business confidence.
Ready-mixed concrete volumes fell by -11.5% to 2.7 million cubic metres in the quarter, with total sales over the last four quarters (Q3 2024 to Q2 2025) totalling 11.9 million cubic metres – the lowest since 1963.
In other news…
Homes England has appointed Amy Rees, Director General of the Ministry of Justice, as its new Chief Executive.
Rees will join the Government’s housing and regeneration agency on 08 September, and lead its mission to tackle the housing crisis and accelerate the delivery of 1.5 million new homes during this parliament, Homes England said.
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