The latest quarterly figures from HMRC show property transactions in the second quarter were 9 per cent up on the prior quarter, and over 1.5 times more than the second quarter last year.
The report said transactions had been going up over the past four quarters due to the stamp duty holiday and the strength of the housing market.
Total stamp duty receipts were 12 per cent up on the first quarter and 92 per cent higher than the same period last year, reaching £2.85bn.
Residential property receipts grew by 90 per cent compared to the same period last year and were pegged at £2.05bn.
Receipts for property transactions for additional properties, which includes second homes and buy-to-let properties, more than doubled to around £1.19bn.
Around 37 per cent of residential transactions, totalling 135,000, were liable for stamp duty this quarter, down from 64 per cent in the second quarter last year.
The stamp duty holiday has driven high levels of activity in the housing market but there are concerns that this activity cannot be sustained when the tax relief tapers off at the end of September.
Conor Murphy, Smart365’s chief executive officer, said: “The break has created a golden opportunity for both first-time buyers and second-steppers to move onto or up the property ladder when they otherwise would not have had the financial means to do so.”
He added: “Permanent reductions to stamp duty are needed to help ensure homeownership remains an accessible venture and that the market retains its buoyancy come the end of September. It is crucial that this period of greater accessibility and heightened demand is not just a flash in the pan.”
Rob Barnard, Masthaven Bank’s director of intermediaries, agreed and added that September was also the end of the furlough scheme. He said the industry needed to “brace itself for yet another period of change”.
He said: “It’s important lenders can collaborate with brokers to offer customers the right guidance and inform them about the broad spectrum of products on offer, so they’re not locked out of the market. The property industry has already proven its mettle through the challenges of lockdown and further collaboration is going to be vital on the road ahead.”
