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Property concerns pre-Budget

Journalist: Callum Mason, i

ended 21. October 2025

Some mortgage brokers are saying that cleints are expressing worry about making property purchases this autumn in case the Budget damages fiscal confidence in the public finances and sends mortgage rates up and property prices down?

Experts who work in the property industry, are you seeing this hesitation among your clients, and how is it affecting the property market generally?

8 responses from the Newspage community

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Justin Moy
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
With so many rumours circulating around the economy and what may be announced within the budget, its no suprise that borrowers, savers and investors are either making panic decisions with their finances, or just sitting and waiting to see if higher taxation will affect the property market. Homemovers in particular don't want to pay stamp duty for moving before the budget if there is an improvement, likewise there are many existing borrowers clambering for a new mortgage deals pre-budget just in case rates go sky high. Its created a nervous property market, with activity falling off a cliff, whilst everyone waits for the chancellor to finally declare her hand.
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Ranald Mitchell
Director at bad credit mortgage specialists Charwin Mortgages
There’s definitely a growing sense of hesitation among more seasoned property investors and limited company buyers. The Budget looms large, and many fear it could target Special Purpose Vehicles and furnished holiday lets through changes in accounting treatment or reduced reliefs. These sectors have benefited from favourable tax frameworks that the Treasury may now see as low-hanging fruit. For mainstream buyers, confidence hasn’t collapsed, but there’s a noticeable pause button being pressed while everyone waits to see what fiscal rabbits the Chancellor pulls from the hat. Investors are wary of committing capital until they understand how the rules of the game might change.
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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
Activity remains in the purchase markets but it is tailing off as the Government have done a sterling job of creating more uncertainty and instability while they dither around and play monopoly with public funds. The upcoming budget and Stamp Duty reforms could be targeted and this uncertainty breeds caution.
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Ross Lacey
Director & Independent Financial Adviser at Fairview Financial Management
Yes we are seeing this. Both potential buyers and sellers are taking a more cautious approach given the uncertainty surrounding the Autumn Budget.

It's generally a quieter time of year for people making property moves anyway.

It'll be interesting to see if anything comes out in the Budget to act as a catalyst to unstick the property market, particularly for higher value properties where they can take longer to shift given the huge sunk costs with Stamp Duty as it currently is.
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David Stirling
Independent Financial Adviser at Mint Wealth
As Rachel Reeves prepares to unveil the autumn Budget, buyers are holding off with bated breath. Rising borrowing costs and fears over Britain’s public finances are prompting a pause in property purchases, with caution growing among would-be homeowners. The result is a housing market on tenterhooks, where even small policy shifts could ripple through prices, sales and confidence alike. Nerves are jangling in the housing market and one wrong move from the Chancellor could be catastrophic.
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Elliott Culley
Director at Switch Mortgage Finance
Prospective buyers that I speak to are focussing on obtaining the right price for a property. It is certainly a buyers market currently and property prices are being reduced. The rise in stamp duty cost has had a larger impact here in my opinion. There is some concern about rates rising from buyers, but its current mortgage holders that are seemingly more concerned with this in my experience.
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Kundan Bhaduri
Entrepreneur, Investor and Landlord at The Kushman Group
Yes, the hesitation is absolutely real. Buyers are definitely pumping the brakes ahead of Rachel Reeves's Budget on 26 November. In my patch across the South East, I am seeing exactly what the headlines are talking about. Viewing numbers are holding steady, but fewer people are putting pen to paper. The uncertainty around potential property tax changes, particularly talk of a new levy on homes over £500,000, has buyers waiting for clarity. The irony is that mortgage rates have actually improved from their peaks, but market uncertainty trumps affordability. People are worried about being hit with unexpected tax bills after they have already committed to a purchase. Until the Budget passes, this cautious sentiment will persist across much of the market, particularly in areas where property values put buyers in potential firing lines for rumoured tax changes.
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Omer Mehmet
Managing Director at Trinity Finance
We’re definitely seeing hesitation from buyers and investors ahead of the Budget. The worry isn’t just about mortgage rates rising, it’s about another round of political uncertainty that could hit confidence overnight. Clients are holding back on large purchases until they know whether the government is about to tighten or tamper with property taxes. It’s a reminder that fiscal policy now moves the housing market as much as interest rates do. Stability, not surprises, is what buyers need most right now.