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Busy September in property market or damp squib?

ended 23. September 2025

September is usually a busy month in the property and mortgage market with the kids back at school and people ditching the barbies for browsing Rightmove as the nights draw in. But has this month been quieter than usual given that mortgage rates have edged up slightly, inflation has stayed high and the public are reading headlines about the forthcoming doom Budget and the calamitous state of the UK economy? Tell us all about it. Also tell us how you think demand for property and transaction levels will shape up in the final quarter of the year? Will it be a so-so fourth quarter for the property market - or a stonking Q4? In short, what's your prognosis for the property market during the rest of 2025?

2 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Kate Allen
Owner at Finest Stays
Confidence is ebbing away like the tide, leaving transaction levels subdued. In places like Salcombe, where second homes once commanded eye-watering premiums, prices are softening, slipping away like ice cream on a hot day. The double whammy of high borrowing costs and double council tax is proving too bitter a pill for many.

September has felt noticeably quieter than in previous years. Instead of brisk activity we’ve seen a sense of hesitancy. Buyers are holding back, mortgage rates have ticked upwards again, and the headlines about an impending doom Budget and the fragile state of the UK economy have weighed heavily on sentiment.
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Kundan Bhaduri
Entrepreneur, Investor and Landlord at The Kushman Group
Mortgage rates creeping toward 6%, persistent inflation, and Rachel Reeves sharpening her budget axe have created a perfect storm of buyer hesitation this year. Properties that would have attracted multiple offers last September now sit like unwanted guests at the dinner party, while sellers desperately slash asking prices to attract anyone with pre-approved financing.

The final quarter looks grimmer than a November afternoon in Slough, to be perfectly honest. Our view is that transaction volumes will remain anaemic as buyers adopt siege mentalities, waiting for either genuine distress sales or government policy clarity that may never arrive.

Christmas completions are going to be mythical this year too. Smart money is sitting this cycle out entirely, recognising that catching falling knives rarely ends well in property markets.

My prognosis for the rest of 2025 is straightforward. Prices will drift lower, volumes will remain depressed, and the only winners will be cash buyers.