Press Round Up October 2025

Mon 24 Nov 2025

Nationwide building society reported a modest slowdown in annual house-price growth in most regions across the UK between July and September. Jeremy Leaf, principal of Jeremy Leaf & Co, told The Guardian: “As our supply of listings starts to slow a little in response to worries about the Chancellor’s budget intentions for property taxes, so the pressure on prices has eased. As a result, with some values softening, still-motivated buyers are seeking to second-guess possible increased costs."

The housing market is in a state of semi-paralysis, thanks to the budget. Jeremy Leaf told The Times: “There’s no doubt rumours of additional property taxes in the budget have resulted in many buyers and sellers sitting on their hands, at least temporarily."

One area potentially set to come under review in the budget is council tax. The current regime has created a profound disparity between regions, with the capital’s homeowners contributing 0.27 per cent of their property’s worth annually, while those in Newcastle upon Tyne pay 0.79 per cent on average. Jeremy Leaf told GB News: “Lower income households generally are paying a higher percentage of their income on council tax.” He suggested that band expansion at the top end could generate revenue while avoiding the political challenges of comprehensive revaluation.

The latest Rightmove survey found that asking prices rose 0.3 per cent month-on-month in October as speculation as to what might be in the budget impacted activity with buyers and sellers adopting a wait-and-see approach. Jeremy Leaf told City AM that "buyers were pausing due to worry as to what the Budget might bring in the way of higher taxes. Figures are not immune to recent turbulence in the market… we don’t see much change until after the end of November 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."

The annual rate of house price growth stood at 3 per cent in August, according to the Land Registry. Jeremy Leaf told Forbes: “Although the most comprehensive of all house price indices as it covers mortgage and cash transactions, the ONS’s house price data is a little dated. As a result, the numbers do not reflect the impact of intense budget speculation on what has ben happening ‘on the ground’ over the past month. Buyers and sellers know more financial pain is coming, but don’t know where or how much which is freezing decision-making for some.”

Houses in London are rising in value far quicker than flats, according to a Hamptons survey. Michael Zucker of Jeremy Leaf & Co confirmed the popularity of houses over flats in The Standard: “Many first-time buyers prefer to buy a house they can stay in for many years rather than a flat which may not fulfil their requirements after a relatively short time."