UK households spend record amount on housing amid cost pressures

UK households spent a record £226bn on housing in 2025, new research from property firm Savills has found.

The analysis of private rents, social rents and owner-occupier mortgage costs shows spending increased by £8bn over the past year (+3.6%) and by £66bn over the past five years – a rise of 41%.

But the rate of growth has slowed markedly after sharp increases of £22bn in 2023 and £19bn in 2024.

Graph 1: Total UK housing costs £m

Source: Savills Research using various sources

“The pace of growth in the nation’s housing costs has slowed substantially compared with 2023 and 2024,” said Lucian Cook, head of residential research Savills. “In 2025, the burden of higher mortgage costs has been felt mainly by households coming off longer‑term fixed‑rate deals. At the same time, we’ve seen a return to much more normal levels of rental growth.”

“In a market where homeowners are fixing their mortgages for longer, the impact of higher interest rates on housing costs – and on households’ ability to spend elsewhere in the economy – tends to have a much longer tail.

“Until recently, 2026 looked set to offer some respite, but that is now less certain given the prospect of another wave of inflation, which mortgage markets are typically quick to price in.”

Table 1: Increases for mortgage homeowners vs renters

Source: Savills Research

In total, the bill for 8.8 million mortgaged owner occupiers in the UK reached £114bn in 2025. This means that the average mortgaged homeowner is now paying £13,000 a year.

An increase in costs had primarily been driven by a sharp increase in mortgage interest payments, which have increased by 9% over the past year (from £49bn to £54bn in 2025).

But while mortgage interest alone has doubled over the past five years, regular capital repayments have risen at a more modest rate. This means that overall housing costs for mortgaged owner occupiers has risen by a lower, if still substantial, +56%.

In comparison, total costs for renters reached £112bn in 2025, of which £81bn was paid to private sector landlords.

This means that the annual bill for the average household renting in the private sector has reached £15,000, reflecting a 27% increase in the total amount paid by private renters over the past five years.

Londoners incur a quarter of all housing costs

London has recorded the smallest percentage increase (36%) in housing costs over the past five years, while Northern Ireland has seen the largest rise, at 55%, according to Savills.

Despite this , the total cost of housing in London remains vast — broadly equivalent to the combined total across Scotland, North East England, North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber.

In fact, Londoners account for just under a third of the UK’s entire private rental bill.

Table 2: Regional distribution of housing costs

Source: Savills Research

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