Housing data to shed light on market amid pre-Budget buyer ‘hesitation’

Hopeful homebuyers and sellers will gain further evidence of how the autumn housing market is progressing amid uncertainty about a potential property tax shake-up in the Budget.

Halifax will release its September house price report on Tuesday October 7, with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) housing market report for the same month following on Thursday October 9.

The reports will be released after Nationwide Building Society’s index said that the average UK house price increased by 0.5% month-on-month in September, following a 0.1% monthly fall in August.

The average house price in September was £271,995, according to its data.

Nationwide said that housing market activity is likely to strengthen in the quarters ahead, provided the broader economy continues to recover.

But experts pointed out that a sense of uncertainty about possible tax measures announced in November’s autumn Budget could start to put a lid on demand and price growth.

Separate data from Zoopla showed that demand for properties priced at more than £500,000 had fallen in recent weeks, “in sharp contrast to the rest of the market” where demand has been stable.

There had been a bigger-than-usual degree of “pre-Budget speculation” over the summer about possible property tax changes which was creating “hesitation”, the property website said.

Reports have said that Rachel Reeves may be considering an overhaul of property tax, including replacing stamp duty with a national proportional levy on the sale of homes worth over £500,000.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said on Wednesday that it was mindful of the impact of the upcoming Budget on short-term consumer confidence.

Meanwhile, recent data from the Bank of England showed that fewer mortgages were approved to home buyers in August – at 64,680, down from 65,161 in July.