Pre-budget comments - CEO: confidence, not tax, is what moves the housing market

13 October 2026

David Jabbari, CEO, Nova Conveyancing

“Housing risks being treated as an afterthought in this Budget, overshadowed by the capital gains tax and inheritance tax debate. That's a mistake. The number that should worry the Treasury isn't a tax rate, it's this: just 5% of homes sold this year had been owned for under three years, the lowest share on record, down from 15% in 2006. People have simply stopped moving.

Stamp duty and council tax reform are both off the table, so tinkering with tax isn't the fix anyway. What actually moves this market is confidence, and right now enough buyers are waiting to see what happens that the waiting itself has become part of the problem.

The only way to instil confidence in this market is by showing buyers and sellers that the reform most of us welcomed is actually being finished, not just announced. The consultation on this had strong support, most people backed mandatory upfront property information and the move to binding contracts, so the government already has the mandate to act. It just needs to do so now.”