This week Angela Rayner timed her stamp duty clearance to coincide with Starmer coming under fire. This coincided with house prices and new stock levels melting under the continued heat of inflation, just as pressure mounted for the UK government to deliver via the King’s Speech. An ambitious roadmap was laid out by Charles — from leasehold reform to tightening right-to-buy rules. Yet despite the legislative intent, public confidence remains fragile, with many questioning whether policy promises can translate into meaningful progress in a market still constrained by high costs, slow delivery and competing interests. As ever, the challenge isn’t setting the agenda — it’s executing it. Welcome to another UK Property News Recap – 15.05.2026.
Polling suggests the UK government is failing at fixing the housing crisis
Ipsos polling showed 49% of people think that the Government is doing a bad job at improving housing in Britain. Meanwhile, 33% of people polled said they are concerned about their ability to pay their rent and mortgage repayments.
Would any party have done it better when inflation is raging at Trump’s actions? I doubt it…relocating the bats is easy but encouraging builders to build when rates are sky high isn’t. There is always someone who will try to lobby against progress whoever is in charge – how this is handled though is a diplomatic game which is yet to be mastered.
TICK TICK BOOM: Housing support cost set to rise
The taxpayer is to pay more to fund others while social housing deteriorates and new supplies remain unbuilt due to high interest rates and a historic ineptitude to build.
“Taxpayer spending on housing support for benefits claimants will rise by £913m to £38.8bn in 2026-27, according to projections from the Department for Work and Pensions,” the Telegraph reported.
Off plan sales stall
According to Hamptons, just 33% of new homes in England & Wales were sold before construction was complete in 2025, down from a peak of 49% in 2016. As a result of prolonged completions, developer finance in England & Wales has cost an estimated additional £264.5m in 2025 compared with 10 years ago. This is eating away at developers’ bottom line, leaving future developments on hold.
The introduction of higher stamp duty for investors, generally dampened activity in more expensive southern regions while the North West continued to see proactive investment with 69% of flats sold off-plan in 2025. Overall though flats have fallen out of favour with buyers as concerns remain around leasehold and service charges. Due to this the proportion of new homes sold as flats plummeted from 54% in 2007 to 22% by 2025. With interest rates high, economic uncertainty remaining and leasehold reform lacking; the chances of this reverting remain improbable, leaving the new homes targets off course.
Green Party leader fails to pay council tax
Zack Polanski found himself up a canal without council tax to paddle…The green party leader appears to have neglected to have paid council tax for the three years he lived in a house boat in East London leaving him in hot water.
Rental caps toyed with
The Institute for Public Policy Research has suggested to the government to put a cap on it – the possibility of rental caps to restrain growth and enable those struggling with the cost of living is back on Downing Street’s table. New developments would be immune – got to keep developers happy, haven’t we? Also, housing benefit would increase to cover the cheapest 30% of rents, so the taxpayer would pay more due to the government’s inability to build. To top it off they are suggesting capping the number of nights someone can Airbnb so landlords don’t turn to the short let market. It’s almost as if these properties were their own…
Typically growth is kept in check by affordability, the ability to step on the ladder, and whether more homes are being built. Landlords are just adjusting to new reforms; adding another layer will only discourage them further which could lead to reduced stock for tenants
Deposits reduce to drum up business
Lloyds is trying to drum up first time buyer business with a £5,000 deposit offering on a home worth up to £300,000 at a rate of 5.89% for 5ys. Will this enable first timers who pay more or similar in rent onto the ladder?…Yes.
Will it also create the risk of negative equity if prices fall and circumstances change and homeowners need to sell? Also yes.
If a buyer has struggled to save a deposit, enabling them may not be the right course of action. Homeownership doesn’t stop with a mortgage, it comes with responsibilities and upkeep. All of which are costly. So before you reach for that rung make sure you have a good footing.
New home registrations slide
Economic uncertainty and high interest rates have restrained developers’ drive to build. According to the National House Building Council; New Home registrations fell 6% in Q1 2026 when compared to the same period last year. Private sector registrations fell 7% to 18,072, while the rental and affordable sector saw a 4% fall, with 8,887 new homes registered versus 9,276 in Q1 2025. Regionally the biggest decreases were in Northern Ireland, down 44%, and London, 37%. The North West however saw the biggest increase at +27%, with the North East on its heels, clocking a 15% rise. Affordability brings demand that in turn dictates the region best suited for current construction and those that are not.
Making a sale evades 44% of sellers who overprice
Pride comes before a fall. In a recent survey of over 2,000 people, Zoopla found that 44% of UK homes listed in the past three years failed to sell. Unsurprisingly, this was predominantly due to over zealous pricing. This ended up costing sellers more and increasing their odds of not selling than if they’d priced correctly at the start.
The market has had a strained few years, buyers are wary, tired and overly cautious. Interest rates remain high but the willingness to move remains, even if in some cases they’ve had to shelve their plans temporarily till things improve. Properties will sell if priced right but first “portal” impressions count. They leave a trail of information that you can’t rewrite. Sellers will save themselves a lot of time and money if they accept reality and not a 2022 comp.
Andy Burnham distributes unevenly
Trowels at Dawn. Developer jealousy over preferential loans provided by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority smears Andy Burnham’s facade; posing questions about transparency. Saying one thing and doing another is typical of politicians, scrapping the affordable allowance for skyscrapers to enable development appears to be a familiar Labour theme. Withholding documentation from a competition appeal hearing however appears particular to Burnham
UK House prices slump under Middle East fire
Surveyors are huddling as they seek shelter from the grey clouds forming over the UK property market as a result of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The general mood music in this month’s RICS residential market survey was somber. Demand and agreed sales retreated along with prices and hopes for a reprieve in the future. This led to a dip in valuations as sellers thought better of listing till market conditions improved. The north west and northern regions continue to bloom despite rate rises which have further suppressed growth in the capital and southern regions. Until rates reduce, expect a damp spring that once was full of promise
In the rental sector; demand grew as supply remained repressed leading to speculation of further rental growth in the near term, continuing the squeeze on tenants’ pockets.
Angela Rayner is cleared of wrong doing…
Despite the UK’s EX Secretary of State for HOUSING, Communities and Local Government and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner getting Freehold and Leasehold confused earlier in the week, she manages to get her timing right later in the week as she is cleared of wrongdoing for stamp duty evasion just as Starmer comes under fire.
Another developer’s share price hits the dust
The impact of the war in the Middle East created a further crater in Vistry’s share price, which fell 12% on Wednesday in response to a trading update. This showed a 32% increase in the group’s overall year-to-date sales rate, which despite sounding encouraging was a result of increased initiatives to offload finished or nearly finished homes. At the same time, to combat tough market conditions, the group announced it was “delaying or slowing the building of some sites” and only buying “schemes that require minimal initial capital investment.” Despite this weak Q1 performance they remain hopeful for a better end to the year…economic conditions permitting….
Legislation changes laid out by the King to be realised by government
On Wednesday, the King laid out plans for upcoming legislation that promised to increase the eligibility requirement to 10 years for those claiming the right to buy, further reforms to the leasehold bill that set out a new legal framework for commonhold, and a cap on ground rents at £250 a year. Construction product manufacturers are to be sought to pay for the remediation of unsafe cladding on buildings above 11m in height and there will be a new legal duty for building owners to remediate. In addition, there is to be a ban of deducting and withholding retention payments under construction contracts. Unnecessary bureaucracy is to be cut enabling mobility and investment in social and affordable homes. These intentions remain to be realised but are welcomed. Let’s hope parliamentary procrastination is coming to a close and there is an end date in everyone’s sights, unlike the current housing target….
Keeping the wolf from the door: arrears decrease
Despite rate rises and the cost of living increasing mortgage arrears and possessions remain contained as lenders lend a hand. Homeowner mortgages in arrears of 2.5% or more of the outstanding balance, fell 2% on the previous quarter in Q1 2026. At the same time there were 6% fewer buy-to-let mortgages falling behind. Possessions however rose by 3% in Q1 but remain below the long term average.
Andy Burnham causes a market stir
On Friday, the news that Andy Burnham was gunning for the PM role had the markets in panic mode. Bond yields jumped which showed a wariness that the potential for increased borrowing could further fan the flames of inflation if not contained.
That concludes this week’s UK Property News Recap – 15.05.2026. Any comments or suggestions please get in touch.
