Budget uncertainty weighs heavily on housing market - Rics
By Abigail Townsend
Date: Thursday 11 Dec 2025
(Sharecast News) - The UK housing market remained subdued in November, a closely-watched survey showed on Thursday, as pre-Budget jitters weighed on confidence.
According to the latest residential market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, UK house prices stayed firmly in negative territory last month, with a net balance of -16.
That was a modest improvement on October's -19.
However, prices fell particularly sharply in London, with a net balance of -44, primarily due to the introduction of a new high value council tax surcharge.
A balance is the proportion of respondents reporting a rise minus those seeing a fall.
New buyer enquiries also continued to soften, sliding to -32 from -24 - the weakest reading since late 2023 - while the volume of agreed sales was largely unchanged at -23.
The Budget is traditionally published at the end of October. But this year, chancellor Rachel Reeves opted to present it to Parliament a month later, on 26 November. The long build-up was characterised by press leaks, apparent U-turns and speculation.
Respondents said that uncertainty had weighed on the market during November.
However, they also flagged relief that the council tax surcharge, announced in the Budget and due to come in from April 2028, was limited to properties above £2m.
Looking ahead, and short-term expectations remained generally subdued. But longer term and a net balance of 15 anticipated sales volumes would pick up over the year ahead.
A balance of 24 also believed house prices would resume an upward trajectory over the coming year, the strongest reading since June.
Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at Rics, said: "The housing market has been struggling for momentum for several months.
"The ending of the Budget-related uncertainty is welcome, but the fundamental challenges of affordability and elevated borrowing costs will, in all probably, keep activity subdued in the near term.
"That said, the 12-month outlook has brightened somewhat, likely reflecting a growing sense that the Bank of England may have a little more scope to reduce interest rates than seemed plausible only a short while ago."
The rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee has cut the cost of borrowing just three times so far this year, to 4%, despite sluggish economic growth, as it battles persistently sticky inflation.
However, with the consumer prices index widely thought to have now peaked, market watchers increasingly expect the MPC to cut rates when it meets next Thursday for its final decision this year.
The Rics survey was sent to 476 branches, 245 of which responded.
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