£6,500 Gone in a Month: What the Budget Means for Property Investors

Good morning,

If you missed it: the property market just dropped £6,591 in a month.

And the timing couldn’t be more critical, budget day is exactly one week away in the UK.

Lets uncover some of the facts in this weeks edition.

Let’s dive in.

In this newsletter, you'll find...

• This Week’s Biggest News…….

• £6,500 Gone in a Month: What the Budget Means for Property Investors

• Property Listings

• Bottom Line

• What's Next?

• Feedback

This Week’s Biggest News…….

1. Credit scores to include rental payments, says major ratings agency.

2. Lloyds the landlord: how the bank quietly became a big rental property player.

£6,500 Gone in a Month: What the Budget Means for Property Investors

So, remember last week when we talked about London slipping and the North East still climbing? Well… this week the market basically said, “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Because once the Budget panic kicked in, things moved fast. On November 16, Rightmove dropped a stat that made a lot of investors sit up straight:

Asking prices fell by £6,591 in just one month. That’s the biggest November fall since 2012. And no, this isn’t the usual winter slowdown.

This is people reacting.

And now we’re exactly 7 days away from Budget Day (Nov 26, 12:30 PM).

So here’s the picture and what it means for you.

What Actually Happened With the £6,591 Drop

Rightmove’s latest November data revealed something most people weren’t expecting.

The average asking price slipped to £364,833, down from £371,424 in October, a 1.8% fall, far sharper than the usual 1.1% November dip. It’s also the biggest November drop in 13 years.

And it happened for two clear reasons:

• Budget uncertainty: Rumours of a £500k property tax threshold, a mansion tax above £2m, and potential CGT changes pushed higher-end buyers to the sidelines. No one wanted to move until the Chancellor speaks.

• Supply jumped: 34% of listings have now reduced their asking price, well above the usual 24%. Sellers are cutting hard just to stay competitive.

As Rightmove’s Tim Bannister said: “The usual Christmas lull arrived early.”

For now, buyers clearly hold the power.

The Regional Split Is Getting Sharper

This is where things get interesting. The UK market hasn’t been moving in one direction for a while, but this week the regional divide didn’t just widen — it accelerated.

London recorded a 2.1% annual drop and another 1.1% monthly decline. Meanwhile, the North East continued climbing with a 2.4% annual rise. That’s a 4.5-percentage-point gap in just seven days, a rare pace for regional divergence.

The message is clear:

The North remains stable; the South (shaped heavily by high-value segments), continues losing ground.

The market isn’t just diverging; the speed of divergence is picking up.

Where the Market Has Actually “Frozen”

Despite headlines claiming the housing market has “frozen,” the slowdown is far more targeted. It’s not everywhere — it’s in specific price bands.

• £2m+ properties: virtually at a standstill, down around 13%.

• £500k–£2m: down roughly 8%.

• £300k–£500k: softening with 3%–5% declines.

But below £300k, the picture flips completely.

Homes are still selling. Rental demand is strong. Yields make sense. Investors remain active.

That’s why areas like the North East, with average prices around £162k–£166k, continue to move. The numbers work. Rents cover mortgages. Cash flow is achievable. And the fundamentals aren’t guesswork, they’re solid.

Meanwhile, the South East and London’s higher-value market is where the real freeze sits. Uncertainty always hits the expensive tiers first and it hits them hardest.

Property Listing

Bottom Line

Last week: We showed the regional split using hard government data.
This week: We revealed how Budget anxiety triggered a £6,591 price drop.
Next week: We’ll break down exactly how to profit from the fallout.

Seven days. One Budget. A blueprint for your 2026 strategy.

What’s Next?

So What Should Investors Do Right Now?

1. Expect more price cuts before the Budget

Uncertainty = hesitation. Sellers will keep adjusting.

2. Stay in the sub-£300k market unless you have a strategic reason not to

This is where liquidity still exists.

3. Look North if you want stability + yield

The fundamentals are still in your favour.

4. Don’t rush pre-Budget decisions

Unless the deal is outstanding, waiting 7 days for clarity is rational.