The property market is in a state of suspended animation, with speculation around potential property tax reform causing uncertainty amongst buyers and sellers, the latest residential property trends from Landmark Information Group suggests.
While market activity in July and August reflected the usual summer slowdown, the anticipated September rebound failed to materialise, according to the data. Across England and Wales, listing volumes fell by 1% in Q3 2025 compared with the same quarter in 2024. Properties marked as sold subject to contract were down 6% compared across the same timeframe, and were broadly consistent with the levels recorded in previous quarters throughout 2025.
The data reflects lingering caution in the market, Landmark says, and suggests confidence has yet to recover from the post-election uncertainty that dampened activity last year. Search order and completion volumes remained largely unchanged from the subdued levels seen in 2024, with search order volumes declining by 2% in Q3 2025 compared with Q3 2024. Completions rose by just 1% over the same period.
Landmark CEO Simon Brown commented:
“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.”
Referring to the government’s recently announced proposals for home buying reform, Brown added:
“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.”
Landmark Information Group is one of 23 organisations across the property sector backing the Project28 charter, which aims to reduce the time between sale agreed and exchange to 28 days. The charter sets out eight cross-industry pledges to achieve the 28-day goal, which the group say will lay the groundwork for a more resilient market and modernised system built on collaboration, data and technology.
Acknowledging that the charter will have no impact on external factors, such as budget uncertainty, Brown said the industry has the ability to collectively change processes that are outdated and efficient to restore confidence in the market.
He continued:
“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.”
Landmark’s Residential Property Trends Report analyses data extracted from systems operated by Landmark Information Group across the whole property chain in the UK housing market. The Q3 report can be seen in full at https://www.landmark.co.uk/news-insights/industry-reports/landmark-residential-property-trends-report-q3-25-october-2025/
