The drawn-out uncertainty over potential tax changes in the Budget froze activity in the run-up to the fiscal event and cost the Treasury in lost stamp duty. Amy Reynolds, head of sales at Antony Roberts, told PrimeResi: “Any talk of a ‘mansion tax’ or further property levies risks inflicting real damage. Wealth is relative – 1% for someone with a £2 million home is the same as 1% for someone with a £300,000 home.” She expanded further in The Times: “Many owners of large properties are not sitting on piles of cash; they face high running costs and maintenance bills. Bringing in another tax layer, and the red tape that comes with valuing such properties, would create huge administrative costs, push some homeowners into negative equity, and risk a self-inflicted crisis in the high-end market.”
That speculation has had a real, negative, impact on the housing market. Amy Reynolds told The Telegraph: “Over the past few weeks we’ve seen noticeably fewer market appraisals, simply because sellers want to know what is coming before making a move. That pause now feeds directly into reduced stock for 2026, which is when the market normally builds momentum… but the real message right now is that the Budget hasn’t shaped sentiment – it has shaped supply.”
Country Life also examined how Budget speculation has negatively affected the housing market: “Everyone in the property world has been laser-focused on the Budget,” Amy Reynolds told the magazine. “It’s felt like a marathon getting to this point. And while the wait hasn’t brought the market to a standstill, it has absolutely created hesitation.”
The issue of valuing properties over £2m for the new mansion tax will be a challenge which the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) may not be up to. Amy Reynolds told The Telegraph: My own home has been waiting for a revaluation since February – a process advertised as taking 90 days has now taken almost ten months with no end in sight. I already know what my new band will be, it’s perfectly obvious, yet the VOA can’t conclude it. If they’re struggling with one property, how are they going to reassess the entire country in just a few short years? The administrative burden – and the cost – will be enormous.”
Official figures from HMRC reveal that transactions dipped in the year to October due to Budget uncertainty, combined with the high cost of moving. Amy Reynolds told City AM: “Nothing has got cheaper when it comes to moving, particularly stamp duty. The pressure on the market remains as before and will do so until there is intervention to stimulate it,” she said.
Base rate may have been held in November but there was still good news for mortgage borrowers as lenders reduced rates which encouraged activity. Amy Reynolds told The Daily Mail: “Although many have spoken about a market where not much is going on, which meant we were expecting a very quiet November in the run-up to the Budget, that hasn’t been the case. We’ve agreed a high number of sales – mainly freehold homes – with prices reaching up to £2.5m.”
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