Mortgage rates surged at an unprecedented pace in 2022, with the average 10-year fixed rate doubling between March and December of that year. In response to mounting inflation, the Bank of England implemented a series of rate hikes, pushing borrowing costs steadily higher. By October 2025, the average 10-year fixed mortgage rate stood at **** percent. As financing becomes more expensive, housing demand has cooled, weighing on market sentiment and slowing house price growth. How have the mortgage hikes affected the market? After surging in 2021, the number of residential properties sold fell significantly in 2023, dipping to just above *** million transactions. This contraction in activity also dampened mortgage lending. Between the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, the value of new mortgage loans declined year-on-year for five consecutive quarters. Even as rates eased modestly in 2024 and housing activity picked up slightly, volumes remained well below the highs recorded in 2021. How are higher mortgages impacting homebuyers? For homeowners, the impact is being felt most acutely as fixed-rate deals expire. Mortgage terms in the UK typically range from two to ten years, and many borrowers who locked in historically low rates are now facing significantly higher repayments when refinancing. By the end of 2026, an estimated five million homeowners will see their mortgage deals expire. Roughly two million of these loans are projected to experience a monthly payment increase of up to *** British pounds by 2026, putting additional pressure on household budgets and constraining affordability across the market.

The value of buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage loans for property remortgaging in the UK was forecast to continue to increase in 2025, after plummeting in 2023. In 2023, buy-to-let mortgages originated for a property purchase amounted to ************ British pounds, while remortgage originations totaled ** billion British pounds. By 2026, mortgage lending for purchases was forecast to remain stable, while remortgage lending was expected to rise to ** billion British pounds.

The average value of mortgage loans granted in the UK since 2016 ranged between ******* British pounds and ******* British pounds. In the third quarter of 2024, the average mortgage loan amounted to nearly ******* British pounds - the second-highest figure on record after the third quarter of 2022. The overall increase in the average value of mortgages granted can be explained by the accelerated increase in house prices since the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

This data set contains Help to Buy: Equity Loan statistics at post code sector level.

The figures cover the launch of the scheme on 1 April 2013 until 31 October 2014.

Information on the allocation of completed sales to postcode sectors is derived using the latest available information on the full postcode for each scheme. Figures have been attributed to an individual postcode sector by reconciling data against the ONS Postcode Directory (May 2014) where possible. Figures may be subject to revision later in the year.

For sales before 31 March 2014, properties are included under the local authority district to which they were initially allocated. In some cases, this differs from latest information, which forms the basis of the first column of local authority district figures. Figures for some local authorities may be subject to revisions later in the year. Although local authority information is validated against other geographic data at the time of data entry, detailed reconciliation of the data, conducted twice a year, may result in a small number of changes to these monthly releases, for example where a new development crosses a local authority boundary.

An equity loan is Government financial assistance given to eligible applicants to purchase an eligible home through a Government equity mortgage secured on the home. The Government equity mortgage is ranked second in priority behind an owner’s main mortgage lender.

This scheme offers up to 20 per cent of the value as Government assistance to purchasers buying a new build home. The buyer must provide a cash deposit of at least 5 per cent and a main mortgage lender must provide a loan of at least 75 per cent.

The Government assistance to buy is made through an equity loan made by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to the purchaser.

Help to Buy equity loans are only available on new build homes and the maximum purchase price is £600,000. Equity loan assistance for purchasers is paid via house builders registered with the HCA to participate in the Help to Buy equity loan initiative. The payment is made to builders (via solicitors) at purchaser legal completion.

The equity loan is provided without fees for the first five years of ownership.

The property title is held by the home owner who can therefore sell their home at any time and upon sale should provide the government the value of the same equity share of the property when it is sold.

For further information see
Help to Buy (equity loan) scheme monthly statistics.

The mortgage market has recovered well since the financial crisis, often producing double-digit growth each year. However, rising economic uncertainties will dampen the prospects for future growth over the coming years. During the forecast period (2018-22), gross advances are expected to record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2%, reaching £338bn by the end of the forecast period versus a historic five-year CAGR of 7.6% from 2013 to 2017. Read More

This data set contains Help to Buy: Equity Loan statistics at postcode district level. For data released from 5 March 2015 onwards, the Homes and Community Agency (HCA) have revised the completion date for the entire Help to Buy Equity Loan time series. The HCA have stopped counting payment date (when the money out is paid out by the HCA) and now report on the expected actual completion date. It is more accurate and is closer to the live situation, especially when HCA now recognise an asset based on a completion, rather than exchange and approved claim. As a result (and due to reinstating accounts) HCA have seen movement of actual completions dates. There should not be this level of difference moving forward, it was a one off activity. The figures cover the launch of the scheme on 1 April 2013 until 30 September 2016. Figures have been attributed to an individual constituency by reconciling data against the ONS Postcode Directory (May 2014) where possible. Figures for some constituencies may be subject to revision later in the year. For sales before 31 March 2014, properties are included under the local authority district to which they were initially allocated. In some cases, this differs from latest information, which forms the basis of the first column of local authority district figures. Figures for some local authorities may be subject to revisions later in the year. Although local authority information is validated against other geographic data at the time of data entry, detailed reconciliation of the data, conducted twice a year, may result in a small number of changes to these monthly releases, for example where a new development crosses a local authority boundary. An equity loan is Government financial assistance given to eligible applicants to purchase an eligible home through a Government equity mortgage secured on the home. The Government equity mortgage is ranked second in priority behind an owner’s main mortgage lender. This scheme offers up to 20 per cent of the value as Government assistance to purchasers buying a new build home. The buyer must provide a cash deposit of at least 5 per cent and a main mortgage lender must provide a loan of at least 75 per cent. The Government assistance to buy is made through an equity loan made by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to the purchaser. Help to Buy equity loans are only available on new build homes and the maximum purchase price is £600,000. Equity loan assistance for purchasers is paid via house builders registered with the HCA to participate in the Help to Buy equity loan initiative. The payment is made to builders (via solicitors) at purchaser legal completion. The equity loan is provided without fees for the first five years of ownership. The property title is held by the home owner who can therefore sell their home at any time and upon sale should provide the government the value of the same equity share of the property when it is sold. For further information see Help to Buy (equity loan) scheme monthly statistics.

While the market has recovered well since the financial crisis, often growing by a double-digit percentage year-on-year, rising economic uncertainties will dampen the prospects for future growth over the coming years. During 2017-21, gross advances are expected to record a CAGR of 5.7%, reaching £327.0bn by the end of the forecast period. Read More

Expenditure on rent by renters and mortgages by mortgage holders, by region and age from the Living Costs and Food Survey for the financial year ending 2022. Data is presented as a proportion of total expenditure and a proportion of disposable income.

This data set contains Help to Buy: Equity Loan statistics at local authority level and includes total equity loans and equity loans to first time buyers . For data released from 5 March 2015 onwards, the Homes and Community Agency (HCA) have revised the completion date for the entire Help to Buy Equity Loan time series. The HCA have stopped counting payment date (when the money out is paid out by the HCA) and now report on the expected actual completion date. It is more accurate and is closer to the live situation, especially when HCA now recognise an asset based on a completion, rather than exchange and approved claim. As a result (and due to reinstating accounts) HCA have seen movement of actual completions dates. There should not be this level of difference moving forward, it was a one off activity. The figures cover the launch of the scheme on 1 April 2013 until 30 September 2016.

Information on the allocation of completed sales to postcode sectors is derived using the latest available information on the full postcode for each scheme, which may be subject to revision.

For sales before 31 March 2014, properties are included under the local authority district to which they were initially allocated. In some cases, this differs from latest information, which forms the basis of the first column of local authority district figures. Figures for some local authorities may be subject to revisions later in the year.

Although local authority information is validated against other geographic data at the time of data entry, detailed reconciliation of the data, conducted twice a year, may result in a small number of changes to these monthly releases, for example where a new development crosses a local authority boundary.

An equity loan is Government financial assistance given to eligible applicants to purchase an eligible home through a Government equity mortgage secured on the home. The Government equity mortgage is ranked second in priority behind an owner’s main mortgage lender.

This scheme offers up to 20 per cent of the value as Government assistance to purchasers buying a new build home. The buyer must provide a cash deposit of at least 5 per cent and a main mortgage lender must provide a loan of at least 75 per cent.

The Government assistance to buy is made through an equity loan made by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to the purchaser.

Help to Buy equity loans are only available on new build homes and the maximum purchase price is £600,000. Equity loan assistance for purchasers is paid via house builders registered with the HCA to participate in the Help to Buy equity loan initiative. The payment is made to builders (via solicitors) at purchaser legal completion.

The equity loan is provided without fees for the first five years of ownership.

The property title is held by the home owner who can therefore sell their home at any time and upon sale should provide the government the value of the same equity share of the property when it is sold.

For further information see
Help to Buy (equity loan) scheme monthly statistics.

The Australian mortgage market was characterized by a sharp slowdown in mortgage balances in 2019 after years of growth – and this trend is expected to continue well into 2020. Property prices this year are expected to decline between 15% and 30% overall as COVID-19 temporarily freezes the market. However, mortgage balance growth to 2024 is expected to be positive overall, with the rebound beginning in 2021 Read More

This data set contains Help to Buy: Equity Loan statistics at parliamentary constituency level. For data released from 5 March 2015 onwards, the Homes and Community Agency (HCA) have revised the completion date for the entire Help to Buy Equity Loan time series. The HCA have stopped counting payment date (when the money out is paid out by the HCA) and now report on the expected actual completion date. It is more accurate and is closer to the live situation, especially when HCA now recognise an asset based on a completion, rather than exchange and approved claim. As a result (and due to reinstating accounts) HCA have seen movement of actual completions dates. There should not be this level of difference moving forward, it was a one off activity. The figures cover the launch of the scheme on 1 April 2013 until 30 September 2016.

Figures have been attributed to an individual constituency by reconciling data against the ONS Postcode Directory (May 2014) where possible. Figures for some constituencies may be subject to revision later in the year.

For sales before 31 March 2014, properties are included under the local authority district to which they were initially allocated. In some cases, this differs from latest information, which forms the basis of the first column of local authority district figures. Figures for some local authorities may be subject to revisions later in the year. Although local authority information is validated against other geographic data at the time of data entry, detailed reconciliation of the data, conducted twice a year, may result in a small number of changes to these monthly releases, for example where a new development crosses a local authority boundary.

An equity loan is Government financial assistance given to eligible applicants to purchase an eligible home through a Government equity mortgage secured on the home. The Government equity mortgage is ranked second in priority behind an owner’s main mortgage lender.

This scheme offers up to 20 per cent of the value as Government assistance to purchasers buying a new build home. The buyer must provide a cash deposit of at least 5 per cent and a main mortgage lender must provide a loan of at least 75 per cent.

The Government assistance to buy is made through an equity loan made by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to the purchaser.

Help to Buy equity loans are only available on new build homes and the maximum purchase price is £600,000. Equity loan assistance for purchasers is paid via house builders registered with the HCA to participate in the Help to Buy equity loan initiative. The payment is made to builders (via solicitors) at purchaser legal completion.

The equity loan is provided without fees for the first five years of ownership.

The property title is held by the home owner who can therefore sell their home at any time and upon sale should provide the government the value of the same equity share of the property when it is sold.

For further information see
Help to Buy (equity loan) scheme monthly statistics.

After a period of rapid increase, house price growth in the UK has moderated. In 2025, house prices are forecast to increase by ****percent. Between 2025 and 2029, the average house price growth is projected at *** percent. According to the source, home building is expected to increase slightly in this period, fueling home buying. On the other hand, higher borrowing costs despite recent easing of mortgage rates and affordability challenges may continue to suppress transaction activity. Historical house price growth in the UK House prices rose steadily between 2015 and 2020, despite minor fluctuations. In the following two years, prices soared, leading to the house price index jumping by about 20 percent. As the market stood in April 2025, the average price for a home stood at approximately ******* British pounds. Rents are expected to continue to grow According to another forecast, the prime residential market is also expected to see rental prices grow in the next five years. Growth is forecast to be stronger in 2025 and slow slightly until 2029. The rental market in London is expected to follow a similar trend, with Outer London slightly outperforming Central London.

In 2022, house price growth in the UK slowed, after a period of decade-long increase. Nevertheless, in June 2025, prices reached a new peak, with the average home costing ******* British pounds. This figure refers to all property types, including detached, semi-detached, terraced houses, and flats and maisonettes. Compared to other European countries, the UK had some of the highest house prices. How have UK house prices increased over the last 10 years? Property prices have risen dramatically over the past decade. According to the UK house price index, the average house price has grown by over ** percent since 2015. This price development has led to the gap between the cost of buying and renting a property to close. In 2023, buying a three-bedroom house in the UK was no longer more affordable than renting one. Consequently, Brits have become more likely to rent longer and push off making a house purchase until they have saved up enough for a down payment and achieved the financial stability required to make the step. What caused the recent fluctuations in house prices? House prices are affected by multiple factors, such as mortgage rates, supply, and demand on the market. For nearly a decade, the UK experienced uninterrupted house price growth as a result of strong demand and a chronic undersupply. Homebuyers who purchased a property at the peak of the housing boom in July 2022 paid ** percent more compared to what they would have paid a year before. Additionally, 2022 saw the most dramatic increase in mortgage rates in recent history. Between December 2021 and December 2022, the **-year fixed mortgage rate doubled, adding further strain to prospective homebuyers. As a result, the market cooled, leading to a correction in pricing.

England accounts for the majority of sales in the residential real estate market in the United Kingdom. In May 2025, the total number of housing transactions in the country amounted to ******, with ****** of these property sales being completed in England. Historically, sales activity has observed notable fluctuations because of the seasonal nature of the market, but also other trends in the market, such as the slump in April 2020 related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A declining number of home sales The annual number of home sales in the UK has declined since 2021, with 2023 exhibiting the lowest transaction volume since 2012. The main reason for that trend is the increase in the cost of housing. House prices grew year-on-year between 2012 and 2022, with growth accelerating toward the end of the period due to the record-low mortgage rates. As the cost of living crisis hit in 2022, the Bank of England hiked interest rates, resulting in dramatically higher home finance costs. With house prices at their peak and a double increase in borrowing costs, many prospective homebuyers could not afford to buy and placed their plans on hold. How will prices develop in the next five years? After a slight decline in 2024, house prices in the UK are expected to pick up in the next year and continue on an upward trend until 2029. On average, house prices are projected to grow by *** percent per year.

House prices in the UK rose dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic, with growth slowing down in 2022 and turning negative in 2023. The year-on-year annual house price change peaked at 14 percent in July 2022. In April 2025, house prices increased by 3.5 percent. As of late 2024, the average house price was close to 290,000 British pounds. Correction in housing prices: a European phenomenon The trend of a growing residential real estate market was not exclusive to the UK during the pandemic. Likewise, many European countries experienced falling prices in 2023. When comparing residential property RHPI (price index in real terms, e.g. corrected for inflation), countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and Spain also saw prices decline. Sweden, one of the countries with the fastest growing residential markets, saw one of the largest declines in prices. How has demand for UK housing changed since the outbreak of the coronavirus? The easing of the lockdown was followed by a dramatic increase in home sales. In November 2020, the number of mortgage approvals reached an all-time high of over 107,000. One of the reasons for the housing boom were the low mortgage rates, allowing home buyers to take out a loan with an interest rate as low as 2.5 percent. That changed as the Bank of England started to raise the base lending rate, resulting in higher borrowing costs and a decline in homebuyer sentiment.