The Budget has dominated the last fortnight, bringing a lower Lifetime ISA exit charge for first-time buyers, a confirmed £2 million-plus council tax surcharge, and a faster route through planning for compliant housing schemes.
Meanwhile, mortgage approvals eased, buy-to-let lending kept climbing, and commercial investors turned more cautious even as rents held firm. Here is what mattered for homeowners, landlords, developers and commercial occupiers between 14 October and 1 November 2026.
Homeowners & Buyers
- Mortgage approvals eased in September. House-purchase approvals slipped to 53,400, down from 54,800 in August, while remortgage approvals jumped to 42,600 as more borrowers moved to lock in a rate ahead of the next Bank of England decision on 5 November (Bank of England, 29 October 2026).
- LISA exit charge cut for larger first-time purchases. From 29 October 2026, the Lifetime ISA withdrawal charge for first-time buyers completing above the £450,000 price cap fell from 25% to 20%; stamp duty itself was left unchanged in the Budget (Autumn Budget 2026, 28 October 2026).
- Your First Home scheme confirmed unchanged. First-time buyers of qualifying new-build homes can still apply for a 20% government equity loan against a minimum 2.5% deposit; the Budget made no changes to the scheme's terms (Autumn Budget 2026, 28 October 2026).
Takeaway: With approvals easing and fixed rates still above 5.9%, getting a mortgage in principle in place early gives you more room to compare options calmly.
Buy-to-Let Landlords
- Buy-to-let lending kept climbing. Landlords borrowed £10.7 billion in Q2 2026, up 25% year-on-year, across 58,051 loans; remortgaging made up the bulk of that at 39,631 loans (UK Finance, 22 October 2026).
- Over a quarter are trimming their portfolios. 27% of landlords say they are trying to reduce, or have already reduced, their holdings over the past year, in a survey of more than 3,000 landlords (Goodlord, 29 October 2026).
- Rents kept rising. The average UK rent reached £1,387 in September 2026, up 3.3% year-on-year (HomeLet Rental Index, 15 October 2026).
Takeaway: Remortgaging dominated buy-to-let lending this quarter — reviewing your portfolio ahead of any deal ending could flag options before rates move again.
Property Developers
- Development exit finance widened. Allica Bank enhanced its development exit range for residential schemes above £2.5 million with more than one unit, up to 75% LTV over 24 months with no exit fees, responding to Budget clarity on the Your First Home scheme (Mortgage Solutions, 29 October 2026).
- Housing supply forecast trimmed. The OBR cut its housing supply forecast by 190,000 net additional homes over the forecast period, with annual net additions expected to fall from around 230,000 in 2025-26 to 220,000 in 2026-27 and 2027-28 (OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook, 28 October 2026).
- Planning sign-off got faster. From 31 October 2026, most housing applications that comply with a council's local plan move from planning committees to officers under the new National Scheme of Delegation (MHCLG guidance, effective 31 October 2026).
Takeaway: Faster sign-off for compliant schemes and wider exit finance headroom both point the same way — now is a good time to revisit stalled scheme appraisals.
Commercial Property & Retail
- Business rates relief widened for retail and hospitality. From April 2027 the small business rates relief threshold rises from £12,000 to £18,000 rateable value, with the Chancellor estimating 70,000 more businesses will pay no business rates at all (Rightmove Commercial, 30 October 2026).
- A lender fee waiver for larger commercial loans. Allica Bank is waiving arrangement fees on qualifying commercial mortgage applications of £750,000 or more received by 31 December 2026 — reported as worth up to £15,000 on a £1 million loan against its standard 1.5% fee (FD Commercial, 23 October 2026).
- Investor appetite cooled. RICS' Q3 2026 Commercial Property Market Survey recorded a net balance of -11% for investment enquiries, down from -8% in Q2, even as prime office and industrial rent expectations stayed positive (RICS, 30 October 2026).
Takeaway: Rates relief and lender fee waivers are easing some pressure — with investor appetite cooling, lining up finance early matters more than ever.
Sources
- Bank of England, Money and Credit, 29 October 2026
- HM Treasury, Autumn Budget 2026, 28 October 2026
- UK Finance, buy-to-let lending figures, 22 October 2026
- Moneyfacts average fixed mortgage rates, 15 October 2026
- Nationwide House Price Index, 30 October 2026
- HomeLet Rental Index, 15 October 2026
- Goodlord, State of the Lettings Industry Report, 29 October 2026
- Mortgage Solutions, Allica Bank development exit finance, 29 October 2026
- OBR, Economic and Fiscal Outlook, 28 October 2026
- MHCLG, National Scheme of Delegation guidance, effective 31 October 2026
- Rightmove Commercial, business rates relief, 30 October 2026
- FD Commercial, Commercial Property Finance Update, 23 October 2026
- RICS, Commercial Property Market Survey Q3 2026, 30 October 2026
To talk through what this means for you, start your enquiry, contact us or call 0203 971 1234.
Important: This guide is general information, not personal advice. Rules, rates and lender criteria change; speak to an adviser about your circumstances. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.