Zoopla: House sales fall for first time in two years as buyers wait for Autumn Budget

A Christmas lull appears to have come early for the housing market – and it is not good news for sellers.

The six to eight weeks before the festive season usually spell a market slowdown, but rumours that property taxation may be shaken up in the Autumn Budget have meant the slump has come early, according to new data from Zoopla.

The number of new sales agreed in the four weeks to 19 October fell by 3%, bringing about the first annual fall in new sales agreed in two years, while house prices edged down to an average of £270,00 – £1,000 less than they were in August.

Try 6 free issues of MoneyWeek today

Get unparalleled financial insight, analysis and expert opinion you can profit from.

Start your trial

Sign up for MoneyWeek’s free twice-daily newsletter.

Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

Sign up

It means annual house price change to September is now just 1.3%, down from 1.4% in August.

Buyer demand also fell by 8% in October, while the total stock of homes for sale increased by 7% as the market continues to offer much higher levels of choice for buyers.

Rumours that a shake-up to property taxation could be on the cards in the upcoming Autumn Budget are to blame for the slump, says Zoopla, as Brits become more cautious about starting a property transaction and instead adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach.

The slowdown is especially concentrated in the upper end of the housing market, as properties worth £500,000 or more have seen a sharp decline in sales, listings, and demand after reports that they are in the chancellor’s sights.

As higher-value properties are more common in the south of England, this area has been the hardest hit with house price growth effectively stalling across all southern regions.

£100 billion worth of properties in the sales pipeline

While the market for new property sales is slowing, with a glut of properties waiting to be bought, two years of increased sales activity have created a historically large completion pipeline.

Almost 350,000 homes are currently making their way through the sales pipeline, worth over £100 billion, the most in over four years, according to Zoopla.

From initial listing to transfer of ownership, it takes five to six months to complete a purchase on average.

Meanwhile, the average time it takes to find a buyer is now 37 days, around 10% longer than a year ago. Sales currently take considerably longer in the south of England, reaching an average of 45 days in London.

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “The housing market is experiencing a slowdown in activity but there are still serious sellers looking to buy homes and secure their next home purchase.

“Buying a home is a lengthy process and there are a record number of homes for sale which means lots of buyers looking for their next home. The slowdown is modest and less severe than the impact of the 2022 mini-Budget.

“It’s early stage buyers adopting a cautious approach to new purchases ahead of the Budget with greater caution for those buying higher value homes. The housing market remains on track for the most housing sales since 2022 and house prices are set to end the year 1-1.5 per cent higher than the start of 2025.”

Guy Gittins, chief executive of London estate agent Foxtons, said: “While the market has clearly slowed in recent weeks, much of this reflects a natural pause as buyers and sellers understandably take stock ahead of the November Budget.

“Once there is greater clarity around taxation and economic policy, we expect confidence to return quickly – particularly in London, where underlying demand remains strong and well-funded buyers are still active. The current slowdown should therefore be viewed as a temporary pause rather than a fundamental shift in market dynamics.”

Where have house prices grown the most?

House prices are higher than they were in the same period last year in every UK region apart from the South West, where prices have fallen by 0.1%, and the South East, where prices are flat.

The UK region that has seen the highest house price growth is Northern Ireland, where prices have grown by 7.6% since last year. That is more than twice as fast as the North West, the second-fastest region, where prices rose by 3% year-on-year.

House price growth in the south of England has been far slower than in the rest of the country. The fastest-growing southern region was the East of England, at a paltry 0.8%.

A full list of regions with the fastest growing house prices can be found below.

Source: Zoopla, 27 October