What does the budget mean for the housing market? Many estate agents will be wondering the same thing. This blog post provides a quick overview of what was discussed when Labour delivered its first Budget in 14 years, and sheds some light on what we can expect from their plans for housing and how those plans will affect homebuyers, sellers and landlords.

To offer some further clarity and expert insights on these issues, we hosted an exclusive webinar led by a panel of industry experts where we discussed these concerns in relation to the Autumn Budget and considered how Labour has performed in its first four months in power. We also turned the conversation over to our fantastic viewers with some thought-provoking poll questions, providing some real-time insights into what the market thinks.

Autumn Budget Housing Market Impact: Overview for Estate Agents

• £5 billion investment to deliver Labour’s housing plan
• £500 million boost to the Affordable Homes Programme
• Funding to develop new sites, like Liverpool Central Docks (2,000 new homes)
• £25 million for 3,000 new energy-efficient homes, aiming for 100% affordable
• Capital Gains Tax on residential property remains unchanged
• Plans to consult with lenders on making the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme (95% loan-to-value) permanent
• No extension announced for existing first-time buyer stamp duty relief, set to end March 2025
• Stamp duty surcharge for second homes and buy-to-let properties rises from 3% to 5% on 31 October 2024
• Current elevated stamp duty thresholds revert at the end of March 2025
• For home-movers, the no-stamp-duty threshold will drop from £250,000 to £125,000
• For first-time buyers, the no-stamp-duty threshold will fall from £425,000 to £300,000
• Despite speculation, there’s no increase to Capital Gains Tax on residential property

What does the Budget mean for the housing market?

These changes could have a lasting impact on sellers, buyers and landlords. Let’s take a look at some of the potential fallout:

• Landlords could face an extra stamp duty cost of more than £7,000 on an average-priced property
• More buyers may bring forward their plans to beat upcoming stamp duty rises
• The unchanged rates may influence some landlords to keep rather than sell their buy-to-let properties