November Newsletter and Budget Update

Ok, I think we got away with it. There was a swathe of stuff in this week’s Budget to lament, however not much if, anything, that will affect the general property market.

Freezing income tax thresholds, increasing duty on alcohol, tobacco and vapes, and slashing the ISA cap from £20,000 to £12,000 were not welcome. Salary sacrifice changes, EV charging per mile and the dreaded milkshake tax will also be unpopular however the property market was left largely unscathed.

That said, if you are a landlord or own a home worth more than £2m you will be affected – a bit. If you own a home worth more than £5m then lucky you, but I dare say that you probably won’t notice the additional £7500 in annual council tax levied from April 2028.

But landlords having to stomach a 2% surcharge on income across all tax bands isn’t nice and is a pretty ungrateful move by the Chancellor when you consider the job that UK landlords do of filling in the gap left by hapless government neglect where social housing provision has been concerned of late.

That said, here are three things that are positive from Rachel Reeves’ announcements:

• The City seemed content enough that gilt yields, that measure of confidence in the UK economy, fell to 4.5% on Budget Day, paving the way for lower fixed rate mortgage costs.
• As the ‘bread and butter’ property market was left alone on stamp duty, capital gains tax and council tax penalties, the scene is set for a ‘normal’ Q1 2026 and beyond where buyer demand and seller appetite is concerned.
• Also, because GDP, whilst positive and forecast to grow 1.5% in 2026, government borrowing levels, productivity and household income forecasts (which the OBR says are lower now) may dictate a December or January BofE interest rate cut to help out a bit.

All things being equal, average house prices will therefore end 2025 in positive territory and, I predict, will rise by between 3% and 5% next year.

In other November news, I caught a shoplifter in my local M&S and appeared on Talk’s ‘Plank of the Week’ to ask why Deborah Meaden of Dragons Den fame can justify telling business owners in the press that they should pay more tax. She didn’t win the Plank, sadly.

It’s all go!

Russell Quirk

Co-Founder

Read full newsletter here.