A rush for mortgage offers may signal worry about rising rates, not buyer confidence
The expected autumn recovery in the housing market has not materialised, with buyer activity in England and Wales still weak at the end of the third quarter, according to Landmark Information Group’s Q3 2026 Residential Property Trends Report. For brokers whose clients are weighing a purchase, a sale or a remortgage, the data suggests early signs of lending activity should be read with caution.
The report, published last week, found new listings averaged 2% lower year-on-year across the quarter, and September listings matched September 2025. Sold subject to contract (SSTC) volumes averaged 11% lower. Conveyancer search orders fell 12% and completions fell 7%. Landmark said the usual build in search orders through September did not appear.
Mortgage valuations were 7% lower year-on-year in August, narrowing to 2% in September.
Plenty of choice, little urgency
Landmark said stock remains healthy, helped by former rental properties entering the market, and asking-price reductions are improving affordability. Even so, agreed sales rose less between August and September than they did last year.
“The market remains subdued, and there is little in this quarter’s data to suggest that will change in the near term,” Simon Brown, CEO of Landmark Information Group, said. “People still want to move, but borrowing costs and continued global uncertainty are weighing on their decision to do so. Speculation around possible property tax changes ahead of the Autumn Budget adds to that caution.”
Rob Gurney, managing director of Ochresoft, part of Landmark, said the quiet market is not easing pressure on conveyancers: “Fewer cases do not necessarily mean a lighter workload for conveyancers. The amount of work required within an individual transaction continues to grow, so lower market activity is not delivering the shorter timescales consumers expect.”
“The desire to move can remain even when homeowners choose to postpone their sale,” Ben Robinson, managing director of Landmark Estate Agency Services, said. “September’s seasonal uplift may reflect some of those delayed decisions coming through, rather than a broader improvement in confidence.”
Mike Holden, Landmark’s divisional director of growth, said brokers move quickly to secure existing offers when lenders raise rates. He added: “This means that a rush to secure a mortgage offer can more often reflect concern about rising costs rather than greater confidence about moving, so stronger lending activity should not automatically be read as a recovery in house purchases.”
Borrowing costs and the Budget
Landmark’s picture fits wider data. Savills said in its October update that average two- and five-year fixed mortgage rates had reached about 6%, the highest since the end of 2023. It added that annual house price growth in Nationwide’s index halved to 0.8% in September.
The Budget is due on 28 October. Chancellor John Healey is reportedly modelling capital gains tax increases, though no change has been confirmed. Some measures are already set. Property income tax rates rise by two percentage points from April 2027, and a council tax surcharge on English homes worth more than £2 million starts in April 2028. Clients considering a sale or a purchase before the Budget may need tax advice as much as mortgage advice.
In Scotland, listings averaged 8% lower, sold subject to missives volumes were 8% lower and completions were 9% lower. The Scottish Government’s First Homes Fund opened on 24 June, offering first-time buyers a £10,000 deposit contribution on homes up to £300,000. Landmark said the incentive has yet to produce a sustained lift.
Richard Hepburn, Landmark’s director of Scotland, said: “Having homes available does not automatically bring buyers back to the market. People may want to move, but affordability pressures are causing hesitancy.”
Landmark also said transaction times remain high. It has previously put the average at 112 days from sale agreed to exchange, against a 28-day target set by the industry’s Project 28 Charter.
