A step in the right direction or a missed opportunity?

Property and mortgage industry leaders have broadly welcomed Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s low‑key Spring Statement, saying stability is helpful for the housing market but warning that the lack of stamp duty reform continues to hold back movers.

While the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast keeps the government on track to meet its main financial targets, a prolonged conflict in the Middle East risks energy price volatility and higher inflation and higher interest rates, which could wipe out her safety margin. That would likely mean major tax or spending changes in the Autumn budget. For now, however, most brokers sighed with relief, albeit with one eye on the future.

“Today’s Spring Statement was as low key as many of us were hoping for,” said Jason Tebb (pictured top left), president of property portal OnTheMarket. “After the turbulence surrounding the Autumn Budget, a continued period of clarity and certainty is now what the market needs more than ever.

“This is certainly a step in the right direction to restoring a sense of stability and rebuilding the confidence among buyers and sellers that drives market momentum.”

“After the long build up to November’s Autumn Budget, which was full of near daily rumours about tax and policy changes, it’s been reassuring to see a much calmer run up to today’s Spring Forecast,” added Colleen Babcock (pictured top centre), property expert at Rightmove. “It was always expected to be lower key, and the lack of headline grabbing announcements should help give movers more confidence and certainty right now.”

Ben Thompson (pictured top right), director of home moving strategy at mortgage network Mortgage Advice Bureau, agreed with both Tebb and Babcock. “In the current climate, ‘no surprises’ is actually good news,” he said.

“We weren’t expecting fireworks from the Spring Statement, and in many ways that’s reassuring. Right now, the housing market doesn’t need dramatic announcements or last-minute policy changes - it needs stability. So a statement that leaves housing largely untouched is, in itself, a positive.”

Thompson, however, pointed out that while the steady approach supports confidence, unchanged property transaction costs still deter many potential borrowers.

“It does feel like another missed opportunity,” he said. “Big issues like Stamp Duty reform still haven’t been tackled, and that continues to hold people back. For many families, it’s not the mortgage that stops a move - it’s the hefty additional costs. These expenses can shut down plans before they’ve even started, which slows the whole market and, ultimately, the wider economy.”

Babcock also pointed to stamp duty as a key barrier to mobility, particularly in higher‑priced regions. “Looking ahead to the Autumn Budget, which is the government’s big opportunity for policy change this year, we’d really like to see stamp duty properly looked at,” she said.

“The current bandings haven’t kept up with house prices, and as a result,less than half of homes in England are now stamp duty free to first-time buyers, falling to just one in 10 homes in higher priced regions like London. For most movers, the tax is unavoidable, and it can be a real deterrent, particularly for those at the top of chains considering a downsized move.

“With around seven or eight months to go until the Autumn Budget, there’s time for the government to give some serious thought about how the system could be improved. That could mean a more regionalised approach, higher zero rate thresholds, spreading payments over a longer period, or even scrapping stamp duty altogether. In its current form, stamp duty remains a major barrier to movement, which isn’t good for would-be buyers and sellers, or for the wider economy.”

Reeves talks about updated forecasts, borrowing and rate cuts

Spring Statement: Chancellor Rachel Reeves has used her keynote speech to insist she had the “right economic plan” for the UK despite the budget watchdog cutting its growth forecast for this year: https://t.co/M1wVnCGatn pic.twitter.com/SFFab9ztMQ

— BusinessLive (@businesslive) March 3, 2026

Reeves on Tuesday told MPs that her plan is “the right one for Britain” as she delivered updated forecasts on growth, inflation and borrowing. The Office for Budget Responsibility now expects slower growth in 2026 than previously projected, but a slightly stronger performance in later years, with inflation drifting back towards the 2% target.

The chancellor said people are forecast to be more than £1,000 a year better off in real terms over time and that typical energy bills would fall by about £150 from next month. She noted six interest rate cuts since the election, which she said would save households more than £1,300 a year on a typical new fixed‑rate mortgage.

Borrowing is projected to be £18 billion lower than in the autumn forecast, with public sector net borrowing expected to fall steadily as a share of GDP by 2029‑30. The government also anticipates spending £3 billion a year less on debt interest by the end of the Parliament, though servicing the £2.9 trillion debt pile remains a major call on public finances.