Ahead of next week's Autumn Budget, new research from Rightmove shows how speculation around the contents of the Budget is affecting buyer and seller confidence.
In a study of over 10,000 people who were either actively in the process of moving home or considering moving, nearly one in five (17%) said they have paused their plans due to uncertainty about changes to property taxes in the upcoming Budget.
Budget anxiety is widespread. The majority (61%) of respondents said they were aware of rumoured property tax changes, and nearly 8 in 10 (79%) of this group said they were concerned about them.
Those aged 55 and over were most likely to say they were concerned (81%), perhaps unsurprising given the majority of rumoured tax reforms have so far targeted homes at the upper end of the market.
Regionally, those living in the South East (81%) and South West (81%) were most likely to say they were concerned about potential new property taxes. Again, this is perhaps unsurprising given the south of England would be disproportionately affected by the so-far rumoured tax changes.
Potential tax changes include an overhaul of the stamp duty system, council tax changes, and a mansion tax charge for homeowners of properties valued higher than £2 million pounds.
Separate research amongst Rightmove’s own in-house research panel found that one of the most commonly suggested reforms to the stamp duty system was the ability to spread payments over time.
Other frequent suggestions included adjusting stamp duty thresholds by region to make payments fairer, and changes that protect older homemovers and downsizers.
Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert, said: “Our latest House Price Index showed how market activity is being affected by the various property tax rumours being discussed ahead of the Budget. Now, we’ve heard directly from home-movers about how it’s denting their confidence, with some preferring to wait until after the Budget to see how any policy announcements affect their plans.
"While most movers are carrying on as normal, it demonstrates how unhelpful the uncertainty over potentially costly changes can be. I think most are now fed up with the rumours and would like to see the final contents of the Budget and assess how they’re impacted.”
