This statistic displays the estimated average cost of houses across the component regions of England and the other countries of the United Kingdom (UK) for 2015 and 2020, in the main scenario. The source expects the cost of houses in the UK to continue to rise in the economic climate following the Brexit referendum. London is still expected to be the most expensive area in the UK by 2020, with the average price of a house expected to cost more than half a million pounds.

In the third quarter of 2025, the value of exports from the United Kingdom amounted to approximately 234 billion British pounds, while imports to the country amounted to around 238 billion pounds, resulting in a trade deficit of around 4.5 billion pounds in this quarter. During this time period, the value of UK exports was highest in the fourth quarter of 2022, with the value of imports peaking in the first quarter of 2025. The UK's main trade partners Despite the UK leaving the EU in 2020 following the Brexit referendum of 2016, Europe remains the main destination for UK exports, with almost half of UK exports heading there in 2023. During the same year, just over 60 percent of imports came from European countries, compared with around 17.9 percent from countries in Asia, and 11.8 percent from the Americas. In terms of individual countries, the United States was the UK's leading export partner for both goods and services from the UK, while Germany was the main source of UK goods imports, and the U.S. for service imports. It is as yet unclear how the return of Donald Trump to the White House will impact UK/US trade relations, should the President follow through with threats made on the campaign trail to increase trade tariffs. Brexit rethink under Starmer? Although generally more pro-European than the previous government, the new Labour government, led by Keir Starmer, does not plan to rejoin the European Union, or the Single Market. Public opinion, while gradually turning against Brexit recently, has not coalesced around a particular trading relationship. In late 2023, a survey indicated that while 31 percent of British adults wanted to rejoin the EU, a further 30 percent wanted to simply improve relations with the EU, instead of rejoining. Just 11 percent of respondents wanted to join the single market but not the EU, while 10 percent were happy with the relationship as it was. At the start of 2025, after several months in office, the new government has not signalled any major change in direction regarding on this, but has broadly signalled it wants a better relationship with the EU.

Consumers are driving steady increases in Heavyside DIY spend. The allure of innovative new products and an appreciation of the benefits of careful investment is helping the category to grow, in spite of an ongoing climate of weak confidence and general lack of appetite for major expenditure. Even with ongoing uncertainty over the housing market and ‘Brexit’, shoppers are able to find value in heavy DIY expenditure. Read More