This statistic shows the ratio of house prices to household income in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 2016. In 1976 the ratio of house prices to household income was ****. This has risen to **** in 2016. The lowest ratio at any point in this statistic was **** in 1996.

Affordability ratios calculated by dividing house prices by gross annual residence-based earnings. Based on the median and lower quartiles of both house prices and earnings in England and Wales.

In 2024, approximately ** percent of all housing in England was owner-occupied. This share declined notably since the early 2000's, as house prices gradually grew and affordability declined. In 2021, mortgage interest rates soared, leading to even lower homebuyer sentiment.

Private companies were responsible for most of the new homes built in the United Kingdom (UK), amounting to ******* units in 2023. Housing completions in the UK decreased for three years in a row between 2007 and 2010. This was followed by several years of fluctuation and a gradual increase from 2013 to 2019. The number of homes completed in England remained relatively stable in 2021 and 2022, after reaching a low point in the second quarter of 2020 due to the restrictions implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Construction starts and completions Comparing the number of starts and completions in London side-by-side shows that whenever there is a significant growth or fall in the number of projects started, that peak or valley tends to be reflected in the number of buildings completed a couple of years later. Nevertheless, disruptions, delays, and other obstacles may affect that correlation. Still, observing how many home construction projects started in the UK can provide some insight into the level of activity that construction companies may have in the near future. Given that the number of housing starts is forecast to fall in 2023, there might be slightly less work to be carried out the following year. Nevertheless, housing starts are expected to pick up again by 2024 and 2025. Housing associations in the UK Housing associations are not-for-profit organizations created to develop and rent homes for a lower price than in the private market. They have acquired certain relevance in the UK, although this type of organization also exists in other countries. On several occasions during the past decade, over a fifth of housing starts in London were developed by housing associations. Meanwhile, the number of new homes completed in Scotland by housing associations has increased a lot throughout the years, with several thousand units constructed every year during the past decades.

 Just five percent of houses in the United Kingdom (UK) were not heated using a central heating system, as of 2018. The share of houses using a central heating system climbed steadily until 2005, rising from 90 percent in the year 2000. 86 percent of properties use gas as the fuel for their central heating system.

Energy used by heating

Heating is a major energy user in the United Kingdom (UK). In 2017, the UK used an amount of energy equivalent to approximately 55 million metric tons of oil for heating and cooling. Solar energy used for electricity and heat generation in 2017 amounted to just over one million metric tons of oil equivalent.

Heating oil price variations across Europe   

Despite the prominence of gas-fired central heating systems, Great Britain enjoys access to some of the cheapest average prices for heating oil in Europe, at 638.1 euros per 1,000 liters. This is slightly cheaper than the Republic of Ireland and Germany, and significantly cheaper than the 1,158 euros per thousand liters seen in Sweden or the 1,290 euros per thousand liters that Danish customers pay.