Uk consumer confidence may be ‘on hold’ at the moment thanks to the increase in energy prices and a higher cost for borrowing, but if the UK property market is anything to go by, then the industry can take some respite from the fact that prices for newly listed homes have proven to be surprisingly resilient in April.
Across the whole market, buyer demand was 7% lower in March year on year – thanks in part to a rush to beat stamp duty increases in 2025 – but was strongest at the top end of the market.
A demonstration, perhaps, of the resilience of more affluent households, and a demographic that is more likely to spend on higher value, premium home improvements.
This is, of course, only a thin ray of positivity in a much gloomier, broader economic landscape. That includes reports that the stock market value of housebuilder, Crest Nicholson, dropped more than 30% this week after it announced it may not make a profit this year, due to the Iran war impacting consumer confidence and raising costs.
Barratt Redrow, the UK’s largest housebuilder, has also further reduced its land-buying plans, citing “less certain” economic conditions linked to the conflict in Iran,
The latest construction market survey from consultancy Gleeds reveals that the conflict involving Iran is severely impacting confidence and driving up costs within the UK construction sector, leading to a reduced appetite among contractors to tender for new projects.
While all this threatens to dampen demand in the new build sector, installers are also facing difficult conversations with homeowner customers who are now asking why jobs that were quoted a couple of months ago are now more expensive.
There is little option for installers to pass on supply chain price rises that kicked in at the start of April, although if managed properly, it doesn’t necessarily mean losing the job.
According to Glass Times regular contributor, Danny Williams, communication is everything.
“If prices appear inconsistent or arbitrary, trust disappears quickly. But when increases are explained properly – linked to real-world events, applied consistently, and delivered with confidence – customers tend to accept them,” says Danny.
“The real risk is a race to the bottom, he adds. “If some installers lose their nerve and hold prices artificially low just to win work, while others move in line with supplier increases, we end up somewhere familiar – and dangerous.”
You can read more of Danny’s thoughts on how the industry can adapt to price rises in the May issue of Glass Times.
In the meantime, if you’d like to have your say on the current challenges impacting the industry, then please email me at [email protected]
Difficult conversations for installers
Uk consumer confidence may be ‘on hold’ at the moment thanks to the increase in energy prices and a higher cost for borrowing, but if the UK property market is anything to go by, then the industry can take some respite from the fact that prices for newly listed homes have proven to be surprisingly resilient in April.
Across the whole market, buyer demand was 7% lower in March year on year – thanks in part to a rush to beat stamp duty increases in 2025 – but was strongest at the top end of the market.
A demonstration, perhaps, of the resilience of more affluent households, and a demographic that is more likely to spend on higher value, premium home improvements.
This is, of course, only a thin ray of positivity in a much gloomier, broader economic landscape. That includes reports that the stock market value of housebuilder, Crest Nicholson, dropped more than 30% this week after it announced it may not make a profit this year, due to the Iran war impacting consumer confidence and raising costs.
Barratt Redrow, the UK’s largest housebuilder, has also further reduced its land-buying plans, citing “less certain” economic conditions linked to the conflict in Iran,
The latest construction market survey from consultancy Gleeds reveals that the conflict involving Iran is severely impacting confidence and driving up costs within the UK construction sector, leading to a reduced appetite among contractors to tender for new projects.
While all this threatens to dampen demand in the new build sector, installers are also facing difficult conversations with homeowner customers who are now asking why jobs that were quoted a couple of months ago are now more expensive.
There is little option for installers to pass on supply chain price rises that kicked in at the start of April, although if managed properly, it doesn’t necessarily mean losing the job.
According to Glass Times regular contributor, Danny Williams, communication is everything.
You can read more of Danny’s thoughts on how the industry can adapt to price rises in the May issue of Glass Times.
In the meantime, if you’d like to have your say on the current challenges impacting the industry, then please email me at [email protected]
Luke Wood
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