Post-summer bounce in activity fails to materialise as buyers and sellers, in the south especially, opt to ‘wait and see’
The UK’s housing market is showing signs of slowing down amid speculation that Rachel Reeves could announce tax increases on property in next month’s budget.
In a sign of growing caution among house hunters, figures from Rightmove showed that both the number of new buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale, and the number of new sellers coming to market, slumped by 5% in September compared with the same month a year earlier.
The website said the market remained “resilient”, but warned that the typical post-summer bounce in activity was failing to materialise.
“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,” said Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove.
