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, increased by 1.3% between January 2025 and January 2026. On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices were flat between December 2025 and January 2026.
House prices changed at different rates across the UK over the year to January 2026. House prices grew fastest in Northern Ireland, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber, although prices in Northern Ireland are measured over a different period (the year to Q4 of 2025). House prices fell in London, the South East and the South West.
source: UK House Price Index: data downloads January 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 February 2026 were down 4% on a year ago and up 4% on January 2026.
There were 62,584 mortgage approvals in February 2026, compared with 65,114 in February 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:
