In partnership with

Hi reader! Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter.

Welcome to your weekly briefing on important things affecting the housing market.

As a subscriber, the facts hit your inbox first. BUT it is always worth tuning into the live stream, as there may be a couple of last-minute additions.

No live stream this week - but two extra facts to make up for it!

Remember: If you’ve recently rented, bought or sold a home, please report your price to the BestAgent Public House Price Index.

This week’s top 5 housing market facts:

1. Rightmove reports asking prices falling, watch my video on that here
   https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/content/uploads/2025/09/Rightmove-HPI-15th-September-Final-1-1.pdf

2. 1 in 5 flat sellers in 2025 selling for less than they paid. I was right to warn people back in 2022.  https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-15018365/amp/As-flat-prices-shrink-home-buyers-fallen-love-single-storey-living.html

3. More First time buyers skipping starter homes and going straight for forever home. Barclays.  https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/economics/article/first-time-buyers-going-straight-for-forever-home-says-barclays-z8wv6dq0f

4. More Bad Jobs Data from the ONS means any hopes of house price growth are a distant possibility  https://x.com/moving_charlie/status/1967891859512205619?s=46

5. No more rate cuts say Bank economists  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-16/bank-of-england-may-be-done-with-rate-cuts-economists-warn

6. New Home Sales in London crash to record all time low. No wonder flats aren't selling. https://www.standard.co.uk/business/sales-new-build-homes-london-collapse-all-time-low-molior-sadiq-khan-b1248183.html

7. A staggeringly stupid idea to stagger stamp duty. It would cause upward price pressure, and longer indebtedness. It doesn't improve mobility, it worsens it. https://www.cityam.com/reeves-considering-staggered-stamp-duty-payments-to-boost-housing-market/

Charlie's Thought of the Week:

Move now. Why waiting for the budget could be worse.

The uncertainty surrounding the budget measures that could affect the property market in November is as high as I’ve ever known it, even though mortgage rates are stable.

Agents are reporting buyers have disappeared, waiting to see what the budget will bring by way of possible Stamp Duty changes. 

I think the chances are, especially for First Time Buyers, this could be a mistake. 

I don’t know what’s going to happen any more than anyone else does, and I make no predictions. This government’s consistent ability to surprise me with ever greater depths of incompetence is astonishing.

Except for one prediction I will make, and hope that I am wrong:

Whatever they do decide to do, they will make a pig’s ear of it. It won’t be thought through. It will throw the market into chaos and panic, and people in the midst of their move will be derailed. Lives will go back into limbo. 

No one would be happier than I if that’s not the case, and it turns out to be all smooth sailing after the budget. In fact I fervently wish for it to be so, so that people can get back to the business of moving on with their lives.

But here’s my fear: those of you waiting and seeing, in the forlorn hope that something might be better because you waited, will live to regret your decision and will wish you’d completed your move before the budget.

As I say repeatedly: when it comes to home moving (as opposed to investing) it’s about the move, NOT the money.

So, delaying your move because you think it might save you a few quid on stamp duty is, I fear, a grave mistake, and you’ll wish you’d just got it done.

As for house prices after the budget? Well, that depends on what rabbits they try to pull out of the hat. The array of leaked, teased policy measures is bewildering and it’s literally anyone’s guess what they will actually do. I’ve never seen government incompetence like it in my life. It’s even worse than I feared.

So, given the fact that we all need to live, work and get on with our lives, if you have the opportunity to move now, and get it done before the budget, I urge you to do so.

If you look at the risk/reward equation, the risk of doing as I suggest is that you might miss out on a one off saving on stamp duty, for the reward of being in a home and moving on with your life.

Conversely, the risk of not moving could ripple into eternity, depending on what nonsense they pull, in their desperation to balance the books (despite what the MMT monetary flat-earthers say.)

Life is about moving, more than it is about money. 

Move, people, move. You’ll be glad you did (as long as you don’t overpay!)

Have a great weekend all, and see you next week.

Charlie

Looking for unbiased, fact-based news? Join 1440 today.

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Subscribe to 1440 today.

In case you missed anything this week…

Rightmove reports falling prices. What’s actually happening.

Seller asks “No viewings. What are we doing wrong?” Charlie answers.

Most viewed post this week on X:

Most viewed video this week on TikTok:

@movinghomewithcharlie

The surge in homelessness is directly linked to landlords selling properties

That’s all for this week!

Thank you so much for subscribing. Please do give me any feedback you have by replying to this email.

Have a great weekend, lots of love and luck to you all.

Charlie