As 26th November comes into view, specialist finance advisers have been setting out their thoughts ahead of the Labour Party’s second Autumn Budget, and not all are filled with optimism.

“If I’m being candid, I’ve been somewhat underwhelmed by the Labour government’s performance since taking office, particularly given the scale of opportunity they inherited to inject confidence and momentum into the housing market,” said Jason Berry, group sales director at Crystal Specialist Finance.

“To date, there’s been little in the way of tangible stimulus or policy innovation to address the chronic supply, affordability, and liquidity issues that continue to weigh heavily on both homeowners and property investors.”

Jason warned that the government had become overly cautious, arguing that without a proactive plan to boost housing delivery, support SMEs, and improve market liquidity, the property sector risked sliding into stagnation.

He also suggested that a lack of meaningful incentives or interventions had translated into a quieter-than-expected specialist finance market. He had seen no noticeable uptick in demand linked to government initiatives, and believed lenders remained constrained by broader economic uncertainty.

“Looking ahead to the Autumn Budget, my hope is that Rachel Reeves and her team recognise the importance of unlocking the housing sector’s potential — not just through rhetoric, but through actionable measures,” said Jason.

He went on to outline four key areas where decisive policy could make a real difference:

• planning reform and the acceleration of permissions for small- to medium-scale developments
• tax incentives or targeted reliefs to encourage investment in new housing and refurbishment projects
• a revitalised Help to Buy (or ‘support to own’) scheme, giving first-time buyers renewed access to affordable borrowing
• encouraging lending diversity, ensuring specialist and non-bank lenders are supported in delivering tailored finance solutions where high-street lenders fall short

Andrew Robinson, CEO at Arc & Co, commented that he saw recent Labour economic policies as a “mixed bag” for property and the specialist finance market, but found encouragement from broader efforts to channel funding to SMEs, especially by Homes England. For him, the challenge was to scale these efforts up to meet wider market demand.

“That said, sentiment ahead of the Budget feels less positive overall than last year,” cautioned Andrew.

“The expected rise in Capital Gains Tax is a major concern for landlords, and could hit the BTL market hard.

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“There’s a real risk of a market freeze as investors hold on to properties in the wake of the new rules. Combined with tighter pension tax regulations, specifically relating to SIPPs, these measures could actually slow down activity rather than stimulate it.

“The government may be hoping for a fiscal boost, but it risks draining liquidity from the market instead.”

Andrew too believes that tax was a key issue, with stamp duty “desperately” needing reform. He saw the current tax system as making transactions too expensive and posing one of the biggest barriers to movement in the property market. He noted that while an exit tax may be an alternative, there was no clarity on how it would run alongside the current system.

His felt the government needed to provide a more coherent strategy to support smaller developers through better finance access gateway support, along with infrastructure, planning, and technical expertise, in order to see real sustainable growth.

“In the near term, the current environment might drive more demand in the bridging market as borrowers look for flexibility and funding to tide them over,” said Andrew, “but the potential introduction of a wealth tax on high-value properties is adding further uncertainty.”

He added: “Until there’s more clarity and stability in fiscal policy, both borrowers and lenders will tread carefully, and specialist finance brokers will have an important role in helping navigate the fallout.”

Matthew Martin, director at Align Private Finance, reported that the atmosphere around the coming announcement was distinctly different to that of previous years.

“Compared to 2024, the 2025 Budget feels much more pressurised,” he stated.

“All we are hearing is that there remains a £30–40bn fiscal black hole while the government, under pressure to raise revenue, has backed itself into a corner thanks to its manifesto pledge not to increase income tax, NI, or VAT.

“This, inevitably, means targeting property and wealth, both of which could have a negative impact on our sector and the wider market.”

For Matthew, planning reform was desperately needed in order to accelerate housing delivery. He also suggested that stamp duty should be improved to encourage buyer mobility, and Capital Gains Tax assessed as to capture the wealthiest members of society, rather than ordinary homebuyers.

“Personally, I believe there should be more, rather than fewer, landlord incentives. Reinstating mortgage interest relief for BTLs owned in personal names, and incentives for energy-saving allowances, would support both rental supply and sustainability,” he explained.

In terms of the nature of deals coming to brokers being impacted by the Budget, Matthew urged advisers to think on their feet.

“As is often the case in these scenarios, borrowers may rush to complete before potential tax hikes, and lenders may become more cautious as a result of any changes. Either way, us brokers will need to adapt quickly to the market.”