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Residential transactions rise 180% in April: HMRC

Gary Adams

There was a 179.5% jump in residential transactions within the UK in the year to April 2021, new figures from HMRC show.

The provisional, seasonally adjusted estimate comes in at 117,860 transactions for April 2021 compared to 42,160 in April 2020.

This is the busiest April on record since 2007, which saw transactions numbering 126,450.

This year’s April figure is, however, 35.7% lower than March 2021’s figure, which stands at 183,170.

Non-residential transaction numbers rose 89% annually, numbering 5,370 in April 2020 against 19,160 in April 2021.

Against March 2021’s figure of 11,460, this describes an 11.4% drop.

Phoebus Software sales and marketing director Richard Pike says: “The numbers today tell quite a story, firstly of shifting stamp duty deadlines and, secondly, the emergence from Covid restrictions.

“The initial rush to get transactions over the line before 31 March had a huge impact driving transaction numbers up. Whereas compared to April last year, when the first lockdown had a massive dampening effect, the numbers year-on-year show the market is thriving.

“Despite the rise in property prices reported by the Office for National Statistics this week, the appetite in the housing market continues unabated.  With just over a month to go until the end of the stamp duty holiday the push to beat another deadline is definitely under way.

“As the deadline approaches and conveyancers are put under pressure, to finalise transactions, the numbers for May and June are likely to mirror those in March.

“The fear was that the market would take a nose-dive at the end of the holiday, but with so many transactions already in the pipeline, that fear could be unfounded.”

Canopy chief executive Tahir Farooqui comments: “Housing demand is beginning to cool off, but property prices remain eye-wateringly high.

“First-time buyers may now benefit from less competition in the market, but many will be at risk of missing the boat for stamp duty exemptions on higher-priced properties.”

And The Guild of Property Professionals chief executive Iain McKenzie says: “It’s hard to believe that this time last year the effects of the pandemic had brought house sales to a near standstill.

“The 180% rise in property transactions compared to April 2020 is startling and shows the impact of the stamp duty holiday and millions of people reappraising their situation.

“It’s interesting that these figures show a slight slowdown in the number of sales recently. The 36% drop compared to March could suggest that most people wanting to move have done so, and we could see a gradual decline from now on.”

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