The Chancellor delivered the 2026 Budget on 28 October. For buyers, it brought announcements on first-time-buyer support and affordable housing, alongside updated forecasts for house prices and property transactions. But the Budget has only just been delivered, so it is too early to say what effect it will have on prices, mortgage rates or buyer activity.

The latest available Rightmove figures are for October, before the Budget. They put the average asking price of a newly listed home across Great Britain at £371,015. That was 1% higher than September, but 0.1% lower than a year earlier. Rightmove also reported that sales agreed were 8% lower and buyer enquiries were 9% lower than at the same time last year. The number of homes for sale remained high, giving buyers more choice. These are asking-price and activity figures, rather than a record of completed sale prices. 

The Budget included a new Your First Home scheme, which is intended to help first-time buyers purchase a new-build home with a smaller deposit and mortgage through equity loans. A new First Time Buyer ISA is also planned, although it is not due to be introduced until April 2029. These announcements may be relevant to some buyers, but neither should be treated as immediate support available to everyone. Buyers will need to check the scheme rules and eligibility details as they are published. 

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast expects house prices to rise by around 2% in 2026 and 2.5% in 2027. It expects growth to average 2.75% from 2028 onwards. The OBR also forecasts property transactions to increase from around 1.2 million in 2026 to around 1.3 million in 2031. These are projections, not guarantees. The OBR says the outlook for house prices remains sensitive to mortgage rates, household incomes and changes affecting the supply of homes. 

For anyone planning a move, the length of the buying process remains a practical consideration. Rightmove’s latest analysis found it takes an average of 154 days from a sale being agreed to completion across Great Britain, around 22 weeks. Including the average 62 days it takes a seller to find a buyer, the full journey from listing to completion is around 216 days. Flats took an average of 169 days from agreed sale to completion. The timeline will vary depending on the property, location, chain and legal work involved. 

The Budget also made changes relevant to landlords. From April 2027, income tax rates on property income are due to be 24% for basic-rate taxpayers, 44% for higher-rate taxpayers and 49% for additional-rate taxpayers. This may prompt some landlords to review their finances, but it is too soon to know whether it will affect the number of rental homes available or rents in a particular area. 

For buyers, the clearest next step is to plan around your own budget and circumstances rather than rely on a national forecast. Speak with a mortgage adviser about what you can afford, ask your solicitor what documents will be needed and keep in touch with your agent about the local market. The Budget has introduced some new measures, but the effect on individual buyers will depend on the detail, timing and eligibility rules as these are confirmed.