- There are rumours that those with expensive homes could be hit by new tax
More home sellers are slashing their asking prices as they struggle to shift their properties ahead of the Autumn Budget, Rightmove has said.
This month, asking price reductions of homes already on the market have reached their highest level since February 2024 according to the property portal.
Over a third of homes for sale have had an asking price reduction, with average price drops reaching 7 per cent.
Rightmove said the property market was ‘hesitant’, with the upcoming Autumn Budget fuelling uncertainty, especially at the higher end of the market.
Across Britain, average property asking prices fell by £6,589, or 1.8 per cent in November, to £364,833, with the Autumn Budget ‘hiatus’ exacerbating a seasonal slowdown.
Asking prices are now 0.5 per cent, or £1,759 cheaper than a year ago.
Sellers are scrambling to lure in buyers as the number of homes for sale reached a decade high in November.
Budget rumours hit more expensive homes
Sales agreed for £2million-plus homes, which could be subject to a rumoured mansion tax after the Autumn Budget, are down 13 per cent year-on-year according to Rightmove.
The number of new sellers coming to the market in the £2million-plus price bracket has also fallen 9 per cent year-on-year.
Properties priced between £500,000 and £2million, which could also fall foul to new taxes in the Autumn Budget, have seen sales drop by 8 per cent year-on-year.
Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert, said: ‘Rumours of the forthcoming Budget are affecting the market, as we’re seeing a greater hesitation in sales activity, especially at the upper end, which has been the focus of most of the discussion.
‘While there is also a general unease at how the Budget may impact personal finances, the majority of home moves would be unaffected by the rumoured changes to property taxes.’
The lower end of the market, accounting for around three quarters of homes for sale, has been less impacted with sales of homes up for sale for less than £500,000 down 4 per cent in November compared to a year ago.
‘This mass-market sector is likely being unsettled by general Budget jitters rather than specific policy rumours’, Rightmove said.
It added that the Christmas lull in buying and selling property had ‘arrived early this year.’
Scotland sees biggest house price falls
Scotland has seen the sharpest month-on-month drop in prices, which are down 3.2 per cent to an average of £194,037, according to Rightmove.
In the south east of England, the average cost of a home fell 2.7 per cent month-on-month to £467,271, while in London, prices slipped 2.4 per cent month-on-month to £669,040.
Nick Leeming, chairman of estate agency Jackson-Stops, said: ‘Wider caution among buyers of higher valued property in the run-up to the Budget reflects the variety of trailed policies from the Government, alongside a decade-high level of property listings softening sellers’ pricing power.’
‘We saw a similar level of caution from the Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates in November, just as movers wait with calculators in hand to see if a reset in tax could shift the numbers and impact any immediate plans.’
Babcock added: ‘Falling mortgage rates and rising wages have boosted buyer affordability, but the market also needs further base rate cut and less uncertainty about taxes.
‘If we can see some mortgage rate reductions over the next few weeks, supported by a December base rate cut, we could start 2026 on a positive note with the end of the prolonged Budget hiatus lifting the gloomy atmosphere of recent weeks.’
Data from Reallymoving this week showed that the cost of moving home in England has increased by 27 per cent in the past year.
People buying and selling property across England now have to fork out around £17,831 in upfront expenses, up from closer to £14,000 a year ago.
Proposed changes to property taxes reportedly being mulled by the Government ahead of the Autumn Budget include replacing stamp duty for buyers with a national property tax, introducing a ‘mansion tax’ and replacing council tax with a new local property tax.
