It’s been a tough few years for household finances, but the data coming out this summer tells a more encouraging story than the headlines might suggest. Here’s what the latest figures show, and why they matter for your money.
Real wages are growing again, just barely. ONS figures for the three months to March 2026 show regular pay rose 3.4% year-on-year, against CPIH inflation of 3.3% — meaning earnings are edging ahead of prices, even if only modestly. It’s not a windfall, but it marks a meaningful shift from the sharp real-terms wage falls of 2022–23, when inflation regularly outstripped pay by several percentage points.
Mortgage rates continue their downward drift. The Bank of England base rate has fallen to 3.75% from its August 2023 peak of 5.25%, and major lenders are reducing fixed rates in June. For the roughly one in five UK mortgage holders still sitting on a Standard Variable Rate, averaging around 7.13% this June, the gap between inertia and action remains substantial.
Consumer confidence, while still negative, has stopped falling. GfK’s long-running confidence index sat at -23 in May, up from April’s -25. It’s not exactly buoyant, but the direction has turned, and personal financial confidence has, in places, held up better than views on the wider economy.
Property wealth is working harder than ever. The equity release market grew 11% in 2025 to £2.57 billion, and the Financial Conduct Authority has launched a fresh market study into later-life lending in 2026. This is a sign that regulators are taking property-based retirement income increasingly seriously.
None of this amounts to an all-clear. Inflation pressures haven’t fully cleared, and confidence remains fragile. But for anyone reviewing their mortgage, weighing up protection cover, or thinking about what their property could do for their retirement, the numbers this July are more favourable than they’ve been in some time.
Want to know what these trends mean for your finances? Get in touch for a free, no-obligation review — we’ll cut through the headlines and tell you what genuinely applies to you.
