While RICS signals delayed recovery, intermediaries report early signs of movement alongside continued caution
Mortgage brokers have offered a mixed verdict on the housing market’s post-Budget malaise, with some reporting a sharp return of pent-up demand while others warn that affordability pressures and policy uncertainty continue to restrain activity.
The latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey painted a downbeat picture, showing buyer demand, agreed sales and new instructions all firmly in negative territory, with agents expecting any meaningful recovery to be delayed until spring 2026. Yet broker feedback suggests conditions on the ground are more nuanced.
Alan McKenzie of Your Next Step said his firm had seen a marked uplift in activity since the Budget, in contrast to the survey’s findings.
“Since the Budget announcement, we’ve noticed a real flurry of enquiries and have been really busy, which has been encouraging,” he said.
“While activity may ease a little as we approach Christmas, it feels like the bottle cap has come off, buyers who had been waiting are now back in the market.”
McKenzie said falling mortgage rates were already helping sentiment and pointed to next week’s Bank of England decision as a potential further boost.
“Looking ahead, I’m not concerned about 2026,” he said. “After the volatility of recent years, people are keen to get moving again. The Budget feels like a big weight has been lifted, and 2026 already feels like a fresh start around the corner.”
Others struck a more cautious tone. Michelle Niziol of IMS Property Group said buyer appetite had softened in recent weeks, broadly in line with RICS’ assessment. “It’s not a dramatic pull-back, but it’s noticeable,” she said.
“The biggest driver is affordability pressure rather than the Budget itself. Buyers are still recalibrating what they can realistically borrow in a higher-rate environment, and many are pausing until they feel more confident about where rates will settle.”
Niziol said the Budget had done little to restore confidence in the housing market. “There was a missed opportunity around targeted support for first-time buyers and measures to stimulate supply,” she said. “Even a clearer long-term plan for the private rented sector would have helped restore stability. At this point, what would actually spur activity is certainty: mortgage rate stability, predictable policy, and a signal that the government understands the structural affordability challenge facing buyers and landlords.”
Her expectation is for a slow recovery. “I agree that recovery is likely to be gradual,” she said. “The market will stabilise as rates drift down, but meaningful growth feels more like a 2026 story than a 2025 one.”
Mark Harrington of L&C Mortgages said uncertainty ahead of the Budget had itself dampened activity. “The widespread speculation about what the Budget could bring for homeowners and household costs added uncertainty,” he said.
“That will have seen many deciding to shelve plans for a move until there was clarity about what the Budget may bring.”
Harrington also pointed to the timing of the fiscal statement and the seasonal slowdown. “With the Budget statement coming so late in November there wasn’t likely to be any immediate bounce back and there’s always going to be a natural, seasonal slowdown in purchase activity as Christmas approaches,” he said.
However, he noted a sense of relief around some measures. “Although there are measures that will bring higher costs, there’s something of a feeling that the budget could have been worse. The mansion tax for example looks like it may not hit as hard as it could have.”
Looking ahead, Harrington said attention was turning to interest rates and policy detail. “The upside is that a base rate cut now looks likely to come next week,” he said.
“That’s already helped to reduce fixed rates and will be a positive tone to take us into the New Year.” He added that while remortgaging activity would remain strong, purchase demand was likely to recover only gradually, with spring 2026 a key test of whether confidence is genuinely returning.
Taken together, broker commentary broadly echoes RICS’ conclusion: the market remains subdued for now, but lower rates and greater certainty could yet lay the groundwork for a steadier, if unspectacular, recovery next year.
