"People want to move, but speculation around potential changes to property taxes in the forthcoming Autumn Budget has caused activity to stall, with movers likely to be waiting for clarity before making their decisions"
- Simon Brown - Landmark Information Group
Landmark Information Group’s Q3 2025 Residential Property Trends Report has revealed that while overall volumes have remained relatively steady, the market is largely in a holding pattern amid fiscal uncertainty.
The data indicates that speculation around changes to property taxes has contributed to subdued activity, with buyers and sellers delaying decisions until greater clarity emerges.
Although July and August reflected the usual summer slowdown, the expected September rebound did not materialise. Across England and Wales, listing volumes fell by 1% in Q3 2025 compared with Q3 2024, while properties marked as Sold Subject to Contract (SSTC) declined by 6%, broadly matching levels recorded earlier in 2025.
Confidence has yet to recover fully from post-election uncertainty, with search order and completion volumes remaining largely unchanged from the dampened levels seen in 2024. The report shows search order volumes fell by 2% in Q3 2025 compared with the same quarter in 2024, while completions rose by just 1%.
Despite lower-than-average transaction volumes, inefficiencies persist in the property transaction process. Earlier this autumn, Landmark Information Group convened industry leaders to launch Project 28: A Charter for faster, more certain property transactions.
The Charter sets out eight cross-industry pledges to reduce property transaction times to just 28 days. It aims to create a more resilient market capable of meeting renewed demand, with a modernised system built on collaboration, data and technology to deliver faster and more reliable outcomes for buyers and sellers.
“People want to move, but speculation around potential changes to property taxes in the forthcoming Autumn Budget has caused activity to stall, with movers likely to be waiting for clarity before making their decisions,” said Simon Brown, CEO, Landmark Information Group. “This moment should be seen as an opportunity. Housing is a cornerstone of economic growth, yet the process of buying and selling homes remains too slow and uncertain. The Government’s newly announced homebuying reform consultation is a vital and long-overdue step towards change.
“Through the Project 28 Charter, we and our industry partners are committed to proving what’s possible: delivering faster, more certain transactions and cutting transaction times to just 28 days. If we modernise the process, we not only restore confidence to the market, we help unlock growth across the wider economy.”
