Market activity remains cautious amid Budget uncertainty
Average asking prices for newly listed properties have increased by 0.3% or £1,165 this month, reaching £371,422, according to property listing platform Rightmove.
The modest rise falls short of the 10-year October average of 1.1%, as a high volume of available homes continues to restrain sellers’ ability to set higher prices.
The usual seasonal uplift in activity has been muted, with September showing reduced movement compared to the same period last year. The previous year’s activity was buoyed by the August 2024 bank rate cut and efforts by buyers in England to complete transactions ahead of the April 2025 stamp duty changes.
Ongoing speculation about the contents of the forthcoming Budget has also contributed to a more cautious market, limiting the typical autumn price rebound. Nonetheless, market activity for the year to date has shown resilience, though some areas remain hesitant.
“Despite the overall resilience of the 2025 housing market, we’ve not got enough pent-up momentum or recent positive sentiment to spur the usual autumn bounce in property prices,” said Colleen Babcock (pictured top centre), property expert at Rightmove. “We’re experiencing a decade-high level of property choice for buyers, which means that sellers who are serious about selling have had to acknowledge their limited pricing power and moderate their price expectations.
“In addition, speculation that the Budget may increase the cost of buying or owning a property at the higher end of the market, has given some movers, particularly in the south of England, a reason to wait and see what’s announced in the Budget.”
Comparisons with last year’s stronger market have led to declines in some year-on-year indicators. In September 2025, both new buyer demand and the number of new sellers entering the market were down 5% compared to a year earlier, while sales agreed dropped by 2%. However, for the year so far, new buyer demand is up 2% on 2024, and both sales agreed and new listings are 5% higher than in the first nine months of last year.
The market remains highly sensitive to price, making accurate initial pricing crucial. Rightmove’s data indicates that homes receiving an enquiry on their first day of marketing are 22% more likely to find a buyer than those waiting over two weeks for initial interest.
The restrained 0.3% monthly increase means that, on an annual basis, average prices are still 0.1% lower across the UK. Declines in London and southern England have pulled the national average into negative territory, with all four southern regions now posting lower asking prices than a year ago. London’s average is down 1.4%.
In contrast, all other regions have seen at least a 1.0% rise, highlighting a growing divide between the subdued south and the more robust north. Higher stamp duty rates introduced in April continue to affect the more expensive southern markets, where increased choice is also forcing sellers to compete more keenly on price. Elsewhere in England, as well as in Wales and Scotland, the impact of stamp duty changes and potential tax reforms is less pronounced.
Recent weeks have seen proposals for significant changes to the home buying and selling process, with announcements from both the government and the Conservative party.
Rightmove has expressed support for measures aimed at improving market mobility and making transactions more straightforward and affordable. “It’s encouraging that housing continues to be a political priority with some radical changes being suggested,” Babcock said. “We’re all for policies which would speed up the home buying and selling process and make it easier for all involved, and we’re looking forward to helping the government with our 25 years of housing market data.
“Rightmove has been calling for stamp duty reform for some time now, and we believe that abolishing it completely would remove one of the biggest barriers to movement. We hope the government considers how they could improve it in November’s Budget. Increasing the thresholds would be a help, but going further would be a huge step forward.”
Nathan Emerson (pictured top left), chief executive of industry body Propertymark, echoed the support for reforms that will streamline the home buying and selling process and improve market mobility.
“However, more needs to be done to ease transactional costs and boost supply, particularly in regions hardest hit by current property tax policy,” Emerson said. “We hope the UK government uses the upcoming Budget to deliver meaningful support for the sector, including a full review of Stamp Duty, to help unlock movement across all parts of the market.”
For Jeremy Leaf (pictured top right), a north London estate agent, current market patterns are expected to persist in the weeks before the Autumn Budget. “Looking forward, we don’t see much change until after the end of November,” he said. “But if the Budget measures are not as damaging as some expect, we could look forward to a reasonable bounce back for the market in early 2026.”
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