Atom bank comments on latest ONS House Price data

17 September 2025

Chris Storey, Chief Commercial Officer at Atom bank:

“These ONS figures follow data from Halifax, which suggest yet another record high, and highlight the scale of the task facing Steve Reed, the new Housing Secretary. We don’t have enough homes, we don’t build enough new ones to meet demand, and house prices just keep rising.

“Addressing the imbalance has to be at the top of the to-do list for the new Housing Secretary, particularly given the mediocre rates of housebuilding this year. Pledges and targets are all well and good, but they don’t mean much to the aspiring buyers watching house price growth push homeownership out of reach.

“There’s also the small matter of the Budget on the horizon, with continued speculation about a complete overhaul of property taxes, including the scrapping of stamp duty. We saw earlier this year the impact the stamp duty regime has on transaction levels, as buyers rushed to beat the holiday deadline, driving up prices sharply in the process. While making things easier for first-time buyers would be welcome, there is a balance to be found so that it does not end up pushing prices up to even less affordable levels.”