House price growth slows ahead of Autumn Budget

Speculation around the Autumn Budget has left the housing market on edge, with growth smaller than usual.

According to Rightmove’s House Price Index, average new seller asking prices rose by 0.3% (£1,165) this month, reaching £371,422.

However, this month’s 0.3% increase falls well short of the ten-year average October price rise of 1.1%, as the high level of properties available for sale continues to limit sellers’ pricing power.

Wait and see what’s announced in the Budget

The House Price Index shows that the modest 0.3% monthly rise means that, over the past year, prices are still down nationally by 0.1%.

Annual declines in London and the south of England have pulled the national average into negative territory. All four southern England regions are now seeing lower average asking prices compared with this time last year, with London’s prices down 1.4%.

Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said: “Despite the overall resilience of the 2025 housing market, we’ve not got enough pent-up momentum or recent positive sentiment to spur the usual autumn bounce in property prices.

“We’re experiencing a decade-high level of property choice for buyers, which means that sellers who are serious about selling have had to acknowledge their limited pricing power and moderate their price expectations.

“In addition, speculation that the Budget may increase the cost of buying or owning a property at the higher end of the market, has given some movers, particularly in the south of England, a reason to wait and see what’s announced in the Budget.”

Higher stamp duty rates are causing a challenge for home-movers

Stamp duty thresholds in England were lowered from £250,000 to £125,000 and from £425,000 to £300,000 for first-time buyers.

The house price index says many home-movers, particularly those in the South, have struggled with higher costs due to the stamp duty changes.

Southern England has also seen a greater increase in the number of available homes for sale compared to last year, meaning that sellers need to be even more competitive with the prices they are asking.

Rightmove is calling on the government to abolish stamp duty completely during the Autumn Budget.

Ms Babcock said: “Rightmove has been calling for stamp duty reform for some time now, and we believe that abolishing it completely would remove one of

the biggest barriers to movement. We hope the government considers how they could improve it in November’s Budget. Increasing the thresholds would be a help, but going further would be a huge step forward.”