Property transactions down 7.9 per cent in June – HMRC

According to the latest figures from HMRC, residential transactions were 54.3 per cent lower than the same period last year.

It is roughly in-line with pre-pandemic figures, with seasonally adjusted residential transactions in June 2019 set at 100,890.

The number of non-seasonally adjusted UK residential transactions for June was pegged at 96,290, which is 55.1 per cent lower than June last year and 3.1 per cent lower than May this year.

HMRC said UK residential transactions gradually increased in subsequent months in 2021, with large peaks in March, June, and September 2021 caused by temporarily increased nil rate bands of property taxes.

Between June 2019 and March 2020, UK residential transactions followed a seasonal but stable trend, with higher transactions during summer and autumn months and lower transactions during the remaining months.

Charlotte Nixon, mortgage spokesperson at Quilter, said: “The wind had finally been knocked out of the sails of the housing market.

“In comparison to pre-pandemic levels, June 2022 saw transactions dip below 100,000 for the first time since June 2013 – excluding the 2020 anomaly – suggesting the HMRC said the figures needed to be treated with caution as transactions in June 2021 were significantly impacted by forestalling caused by temporarily increased nil rate bands of stamp duty (SDLT) and land transaction tax (LTT).”

Joshua Elash, director of MT Finance, said the cost-of-living crisis was starting to bite and June 2022’s figures were evidence of a dramatic fall in transactional activity in the property market when compared with the same period last year.

He said: “They are reflecting broader uncertainty in the economy as a whole, as well as the frenzy we witnessed last year when the stamp duty holiday was about to expire.

“We must be watchful as this trend could well lead to a more significant and swifter cooling of the housing market than expected which will translate into downward pressure on house prices as home owners and investors alike focus on cost savings.”

Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential agent, said: “Although inevitably reflecting activity of several months previously, these figures are always a better indicator of housing market strength than more volatile house prices.

“The latest numbers are no exception and show how the cost-of-living crisis and rising interest rates in particular have contributed to an increase in the length and reduction in the number of transactions.

“Nevertheless, at the sharp end we continue to see a steely determination to move, particularly from those keen to take advantage of attractive mortgage offers which are imminently expiring.”