Pre-Budget doubts hampering sales

November 18, 2025 by Brendan O'Neill

Property Market

Mortgage advisors believe that public uncertainty ahead of the Autumn Budget is the main factor hampering house sales, according to the latest survey to be published.

This survey was conducted by Nottingham Building Society, and 500 mortgage advisors took part in it. One out of every five of them stated that public doubts about tax and housing policy ahead of the Budget were making them more reluctant to buy. That amounts to 20% of the advisors who participated and puts pre-Budget concerns at the top of the list.

However advisors did also cite a number of other factors that were determining the choices of buyers. Affordability rules and industry regulation were named as the main one by 19% of them. The cost of energy and other utilities was also cited by 19%, while 17% picked interest rates.

What may be surprising for some observers is how far down the list overall living costs came. Only 14% of participating mortgage advisors named that as the biggest factor.

Any concern felt by potential buyers before the Budget could be well-founded. There are indications that it will bring major changes to the rules regarding property tax. One possibility is that stamp duty will be spread across several years instead of being paid up front.

Aaron Shinwell from Nottingham BS told Mortgage Strategy that:

“What’s clear, with the Budget approaching, is that sweeping changes introduced without careful planning risk creating more uncertainty and reducing market fluidity.”

It is clear that mortgage advisors with CeMAP training will be watching this autumn’s Budget with intense interest.