The UK’s housing market recovery continued in January with HM Revenue and Customs data highlighting significant transnational increases at the start of the calendar year.
The 102,810 residential seasonally adjusted transactions in January 2020 appear to be 5.2 per cent higher than a year ago and have increased by 4.1 per cent in the past month.
The picture is also very similar for non-residential transactions in January. The 11,170 provisional seasonally adjusted transactions are 10.7 per cent stronger than they were both a year ago and in December 2019.
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, UK residential transactions increased by 12.7 per cent since January 2019.
Neil Knight, Business Development Director at Spicerhaart Part-Exchange and Assisted Move, said:
“Today’s figures show the strong activity in December continuing into January, with residential transactions up more than 5% on the previous year.
“Last month’s statistics were the first sign that the market had turned a corner and that confidence is beginning to return after a long period of political uncertainty. The January figures are welcome confirmation that this was more than just a one-off and the post-election bounce could turn out to be real.
“There remains a great deal to do to turn the bounce into a sustained upturn in the market but we are continuing to see very strong demand for part-exchange and assisted move services, with people who may have been putting off moving now increasingly impatient to get on with their lives.”
Andy Sommerville, Director of Search Acumen, comments:
“The start of the year saw a slight uplift in the property market as the backlog of transactions that were put on hold at the end of 2019 start to be unleashed given the improved political climate at the very end of last year.
“Our own research into the conveyancing market revealed that quarterly transactions were down by 8% year-on-year in Q4 2019 to the lowest level since Q2 20170.
“As the market picks up, we need to look at one of the chief impediments to the transaction process, namely, the length and complexity of the conveyancing process. Smart solutions and better use of data can help. With the right technology, property lawyers can process more orders faster and with greater accuracy. We can’t just hope for better days. We need to capitalise on the technology available now and shake up the sector.”
