November 2025: Housing Market Post Budget

Following the UK November budget, here is the summary of what has been said and what this means:

•     No stamp duty changes

• For properties over  £2 million, a mansion tax will be put in place

• There will be an  additional   income tax on rental income for landlords

No changes to Stamp Duty:

There was great speculation in regards to anticipated changes to stamp duty, ranging from an overhaul of the system, removing or reducing it for properties under

£50 0,000 or it increasing for properties over £500,000.

What does this mean for buyers and sellers:

Currently stamp duty is viewed as one of the main hurdles for people buying properties. This is due to it being a great expense added to the purchase of the property. As the threshold changed April ,st 2025 back to pre-September

2022 levels. Rightmove’s figures found that in London First­ time Buyers pay on average £24,275, across the South East this is £9,000 on average, East England £6,013 and the South West £4,0 20.

Suggestions were that sellers and buyers were waiting to list or purchase properties until this was clarified. This may now cause a surge in properties being listed and consequently prices driven down as competition grows and people want to move quicker.

Mansion Tax:

The Mansion Tax will come into fruition in 2028 for properties valued over £2 million. For properties valued between £2 million to £2.5 million, the minimum surcharge will £2,500. For properties valued at £5 million or higher will face the highest charge £7,500.

What does this mean for buyers and sellers:

Whilst houses valued at £2 million make up roughly 1% of properties in the UK, London and the South East are set to be disproportionately impacted. London accounts for just over 66% of the sales of £2 million properties

The challenges that buyers face is that there is now increased likelihood of more property  values facing  a higher tax bracket at the next budget if deemed necessary. When properties of any value are struggling to sell, which is likely to happen at this price, there is the risk of a trickle­ down effect. A slower market will always impact the rest of the market and furthers the slower pace as a subsequence of the April Stamp Duty changes earlier this year.

Additional income tax for landlords:

There will be a 2% point increase in income tax on investment income.

What does this mean for buyers and sellers:

RentaI properties and renters rights are at the forefront of many discussions in the industry currently. With this increased tax, it is likely to be the smaller landlords facing greater impact. Since 2022, there are estimates of a reduction in 115,000 BTL mortgages and this is likely to see further decreases now as this is actioned.

Landlords on a smaller-scale, deciding this is no longer the most profitable avenue for them, is likely to see a surge in these properties now being sold on the open market

instead.