UK home improvement consents fall to a decade low in 2025, 27% below 10-year average — Savills

Planning consents for home extensions and improvements fell below 150,000 in 2025 — the lowest in at least 15 years and 27% below the decade average — according to Savills analysis of MHCLG data. Higher borrowing costs and sharp construction price rises have decoupled renovation activity from transaction volumes. For buyers, this is shifting demand sharply toward turn-key properties; for sellers, projects requiring work face a tougher audience. The pattern holds across every English region, with the North East seeing the steepest fall.