UK house price slowdown hits early due to Budget uncertainty
Uncertainty over the Chancellor’s upcoming Autumn Budget has led to the housing market’s pre-Christmas slowdown arriving early.
According to online property platform Zoopla, October 2025 recorded the first annual fall in new sales in two years as buyers adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach to the potential new taxes expected to be introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her November budget.
This has meant that the usual pre-Christmas slowdown has started almost two months early, with buyer demand falling by 8% and sales agreed by 3% annually.
The decline in new house sales is being felt mostly in South England and Wales, with sales agreed declining in Wales by 9% and the South East by 8%, respectively. New sales agreed in London fell by 5% year-on-year.
Zoopla also noted that house price growth has slowed over the past year to 1.3%. The average UK home is now worth £270,000, £3,600 more than last year.
Weakening demand and falling affordability in southern England has also led to a steeper decline in homes priced above £500,000.
Zoopla said that house price growth has ‘virtually stalled across southern regions of England, while prices continue to grow across the rest of the country.
It added that while house price growth in many areas is being constrained by affordability and uncertainty, and the average time to sell in these regions is increasing, the slowdown recorded this month is less severe than the impact of Liz Truss’s mini budget in 2022.
“The housing market is experiencing a slowdown in activity but there are still serious sellers looking to buy homes and secure their next home purchase. Buying a home is a lengthy process and there are a record number of homes for sale, which means lots of buyers looking for their next home,” said Zoopla executive director Richard Donnell.
“The slowdown is modest and less severe than the impact of the 2022 mini budget. It’s early stage buyers adopting a cautious approach to new purchases ahead of the Budget with greater caution for those buying higher value homes.”
“The housing market remains on track for the most housing sales since 2022 and house prices are set to end the year 1-1.5 per cent higher than the start of 2025,” Donnell said.
