Accountancy giant PwC’s predictions for 2025 include jump in electric car sales and green energy production, plus “bright spots” for UK economy
The average house price will break the £250,000 barrier in half of the UK next year, experts have predicted.
Professional services giant PwC reckons prices nationally will grow by between 3% and 4% in 2025. The increase will make it even harder for millions of first time buyers to get on the property ladder. In some areas, many people have all but given up on a dream of a buying their own home. PwC predicts the average house price in London will top £535,000 next year, and £380,000 across the wider South East. Only Northern Ireland and the North East will remain below £200,0000, it believes.
Labour has vowed to help tackle the problem through its pledge to build 1.5 million new homes. But PwC has added to concerns over whether there are enough builders to help achieve the ambitious goal, as it flagged an ongoing shortage.
Among others in its UK economic predictions for 2025, the firm said more than 14 million people will be aged 65 years and over in 2025, equivalent to one-fifth of the population, and around a third of the working-age population. In 2000, this figure was just 16%.
It also predicts exports of UK services will smash the £500million mark, among a number of “bright spots” that will be welcomed by under fire Chancellor Rachel Reeves as she seeks to boost growth. Elsewhere, PwC reckons the average speed on English roads will fall to around 55mph, as the number of vehicles on the roads hits an all-time high. Between 2015 and 2019 it was 59mph.
On the subject of cars, PwC reckons sales of electric and other “green” cars will rise next year, and reach almost 50% of all new motors sold. When it comes to “greener” energy, the report predicts further growth in renewables as part of Labour’s wider goals.
Barret Kupelian, chief economist at PwC, said: “Last year, we predicted 2024 would see the UK turn a page, and in many ways it did – inflation returned back to target levels, there was some progress on regional growth and real incomes grew. This year, our predictions show that the UK will undergo subtle yet significant transformation in both its internal and external environment.
“On the external front, we expect to see economic power shift eastwards on the European continent, with the collective economy of the six largest Eastern European EU ‘newcomers’ to surpass the UK in terms of economic size.
“But domestically, we see bright spots appearing. We expect to see continued strength in services trade next year, with services exports exceeding the half a trillion pound mark, and solid progress towards a greener economy, with crude oil production falling to its lowest level since 1977 and wind power generating enough electricity to power the UK for a quarter of the year.
“Meanwhile, our population is getting greyer and will require more propping up by the public purse, which will place even more pressure on already constrained public finances. The demographic split varies regionally across the UK regions, with six in 10 of people aged 65 and over situated in either London, the South East or the South West. The South West will have more over 65s than Scotland and Northern Ireland combined.”
