The latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report, published in February, shows builders鈥� merchants鈥� like-for-like total value sales in November 2025 were -0.4% lower than the same month in 2024. With one less trading day in November 2025, unadjusted value sales were down 5.1% year-on-year. Sales volumes were down 8.5% and prices were up 3.7%.
By value, unadjusted for trading day differences, five of the 12 product categories sold more compared to November 2024. Renewables & Water Saving (+5.1%) and Workwear & Safetywear (+4.0%) were the best performing categories. The two largest categories were down: for Timber & Joinery Products takings were down 2.4% while Heavy Building Materials was the weakest category overall and dropped 8.4%.
Month-on-month, November鈥檚 like-for-like value sales were down -2.0%, which take into account three less trading days in 2026. The unadjusted value sales were 14.8% lower. Volume sales fell 19.3%, and prices climbed 5.7%.
In the 12 months December 2024 to November 2025, like-for-like value sales were up 1.1% compared to the previous 12-month period (December 2023 to November 2024). Without the adjustment for one less trading day in the most recent 12 months, total value sales were up by a marginal 0.7%. Volumes increased by 1.9% but prices came down by 1.2%.
Mike Rigby, managing director of MRA Research, who produces the BMBI report from point of sale data, said: 鈥淲hile it takes years for governments to commission major projects, and many more years for them to be implemented, on occasion a government can have an almost immediate impact on the economy and our daily lives. At the start of the covid pandemic for example, the government virtually stopped the economy when it told everyone to go home immediately and stay there.
鈥淒uring November, in the chaotic run up to the budget, the government did it again. It created so much uncertainty and unease that many consumers and businesses stopped or paused their spending on larger items and projects until they could see what the chancellor announced.
鈥淚n the event the news was mixed, but the damage was done to November鈥檚 figures.
鈥淐onsumers鈥� confidence dropped two points in November to -19, according to the GfK Consumer Confidence index. But then the country appeared to give a huge sigh of relief as the budget wasn鈥檛 as bad as they鈥檇 feared. All five measures of confidence were up in December compared to November, and the overall index recovered two points to -17. The major purchase index was up four points to -11 from -15 in November, which is a very positive indicator of future spending on RMI and larger home projects.
鈥淏ut overall confidence at -17 is the same as in December 2024, so the year as a whole has not progressed, and the country is still waiting for the better times it voted for to materialise.鈥�