If 2025 is the first ‘normal’ year since 2020 then it is not great. While April was decent, May and June nullified any momentum that was building. There has been a notable slowdown in House Building in recent months despite our government being focused on delivering 300,000 homes a year. The focus on speeding up the planning process, the £39 billion for social and affordable homes, and removing the barriers for SME’s (Small to Medium sized Enterprises) are all potential initiatives to add some needed impetus into the market. The effective delivery of these actions is concerning however, and the path to growth is filled with potholes, not dissimilar to our current road network.

The effect of ending the temporary stamp duty cuts in England and Northern Ireland has added significant costs to future purchasers. This has had an impact on demand, and the market seems to be highly price sensitive. The forecast for national house prices in 2025 is to rise, although recent months have seen some areas reducing asking prices. Mortgage rates are trending downwards, somewhat slowly, creating modest optimism that housing market prices will flatten out. In response to stickier than expected inflation in the UK compared to other major economies, it’s likely that further rate cuts from the Bank of England will be fewer and slower. But if it does fall back the Bank will be ready with future rate cuts. The uncertainty of Trumps tariffs could create the opportunity to lower borrowing rates with the UK housing sector expected to be resilient, despite the potential for increased costs.

In summary between the ‘slow’ government initiatives and the geopolitical landscape, 2025 will continue to be challenging in construction.

Importantly the Future Home Standard 2025, requiring all homes to be carbon zero ready, another change coming for house builders, is expected to be concluded soon with updates expected by the autumn. With continued focus on the building fabric and specifically on reducing cold bridging, Keystones Hi-therm lintels will be a low-cost solution to help reduce carbon. Our continued investment in automation, specifically on our Hi-therm production line will provide surety of capacity for house builder’s demand in the future.