Concerns about tax increases lead to a slight decrease in the number of approved mortgage loans in the UK in October, but it remains higher than expected, highlighting market resilience.

In October, due to potential buyers delaying decisions over concerns about increased taxes on the UK real estate market in the budget, there was a slight decrease in demand for housing mortgages in the UK. Data from the Bank of England on Monday showed that mortgage approvals decreased from 65,647 in September to 65,018, higher than the economists' forecast of 64,500, indicating that there is still resilience in potential demand. These data further prove that market speculations before the budget announcement had a restraining effect on the property market. Rumors prior to the budget announcement suggested that Chancellor Rachel Reeves would introduce a wealth tax on high-value properties to fill the budget deficit, which could have a particularly severe impact on property owners in London and the southeast. However, the budget statement announced on November 26 did not have as much of a comprehensive impact on the real estate market as feared by the market, with the main measure only introducing a new tax on properties worth over 2 million (approximately $2.6 million). This boosted market expectations that the property market may regain momentum in the coming months. For borrowers, it seems that inflation has peaked, and the Bank of England is expected to further reduce interest rates later this month. Another set of data from the Bank of England showed that net consumer borrowing in October was 1.1 billion, lower than the 1.4 billion in the previous month. As consumers prepare for Black Friday discounts and the Christmas shopping season, borrowing levels in November may increase. Reeves' budget is seen as supportive for consumers. While substantial tax increases were implemented as expected, most of the impact will be delayed for several years. She abandoned plans to increase income tax rates and instead adopted a relatively less noticeable "stealth tax" approach. The budget also included measures to assist with household bills. In October, UK households deposited an additional 6.8 billion into bank and building society accounts, higher than the average of 5.9 billion over the previous six months. According to Bank of England statistics, households deposited 5.5 billion into interest-bearing current accounts, 4.2 billion into tax-free individual savings accounts, and 300 million into interest-bearing fixed-term deposit accounts that month.