Post Christmas property boost expected

Following uncertainty surrounding the Chancellor's budget, homeowners cut their asking prices. 

Property sellers have cut their asking prices by an average of £6,700 over the past month, as uncertainty surrounding Rachel Reeves’s Budget discouraged buyers.

Rightmove reported that the average asking price fell 1.8% between November and December to £358,138 — a larger-than-usual decline for this time of year. This follows a similar 1.8% drop between October and November, when speculation over potential tax changes was high.

Ms Reeves’s 26th November Budget included a so-called mansion tax, affecting properties worth over £2 million with a minimum annual surcharge of £2,500. Rightmove’s year-end report indicated that 2025 would close with average asking prices across the country down 0.6% (£2,059) compared with late 2024, largely driven by the Budget’s impact.

A survey of more than 10,000 prospective home movers showed that nearly one in five were waiting for the Budget outcome before continuing their moving plans. Colleen Babcock from Rightmove said: “In the second half of 2025, uncertainty caused by rumours of property tax changes in November’s Budget, some circulating since August, affected pricing and activity, as sellers tried to attract nervous buyers.”

Rightmove also found that the number of new sellers entering the market in the first half of 2025 was 9% higher than the same period in 2024, but fell 4% in the second half.

Ms Babcock added that the market is expected to benefit from the traditional post-Christmas surge in activity. “With the turkey and trimmings barely off the table, the Boxing Day bounce is an annual event when many people begin or resume their moving plans after the distraction of Christmas,” she said.

To those who have followed our monthly news items over the course of 2025... we wish you a fantastic festive season and we look forward to posting more news items in the coming year ! 

This article is for general information and interest purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice, nor does it necessarily represent the views of HCB.