Some new buyers appear to be holding off to wait for more financial certainty, while others who were already stretching themselves have now had to pause. Rightmove go on to report that buyer demand is still up by 4% on the more normal market of 2019, but down by 20% on October last year. First-time buyer properties continue to be the most affected sector, with year-on-year demand down by 26% in October, while second stepper demand is down by 17%, and top of the ladder is down by 15%. We are still experiencing greater buyer demand across the board when compared to pre-pandemic levels although transaction volumes are expected to fall.