OPDA comment on housebuilding figures

06 August 2026

Maria Harris, chair of the OPDA, to July’s housebuilding figures in the S&P Global UK Construction PMI:

"While the construction PMI provides an important measure of the health of the housebuilding sector, it's also a reminder that increasing the supply of homes is only part of the solution. We also need to ensure people can buy and sell those homes more quickly, confidently and with fewer unnecessary delays.

Too many transactions still take months to complete, with buyers and sellers facing uncertainty at every stage. That not only creates stress and increases the risk of sales falling through, it also reduces confidence across the entire housing market. Developers are less willing to build if transactions are slow and unpredictable, while buyers become more cautious if they fear delays or unexpected costs.

Modernising the homebuying process through better upfront information, greater use of digital data and a more transparent transaction process would help improve certainty for everyone involved. If we want a housing market that supports growth, mobility and new housing supply, we need to look beyond how many homes we build and focus on how efficiently they move through the system."