The HM Land Registry Price Paid Data that tracks land and property sales for England and Wales has found a clear increase in all property types for the month of July.
The data reveals that 95,500 sales of land and property in England and Wales in July 2018; this equates to a 12% overall increase in sales.
Freehold properties are also on the rise for the month of July with 72,275 freehold sales making a 3.7% increase.
However, there was less success in July for new build property sales with the 11,819 sales highlighting a 43% fall from July 2017. Reduced stock and increasing prices are attributed to this decrease.
Detached houses enjoyed the largest increases in house sales. The 21,568 house sales for the month of July was a 16% increase from June’s figures.
Semi-detached properties were also boosted by 12% in July. June’s 22,251 semi-detached property sales increased to 24,964 in July.
Terraced house price sales also increased by 10%; rising from 22,243 to 25,554 in July.
Flats really struggled in the month of June, experiencing a 1% decrease between May and June. However, the statistics suggest that they are once again on the rise with 17,368 sales being pushed through in July; an 11% increase from June.
Interestingly, 24,719 of the 95,721 house sales for July were priced over £1 million pound. 526 of these were residential property from England and Wales; 300 were for residential property in Greater London; 4 were from the West Midlands and 2 were taken from Greater Manchester.
The most expensive residential sale was unsurprisingly based in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The property sold for an eye-watering £18.5 million. In stark contrast, a compact terrace house in Henllys, Cwmbran cost a modest £6,120.
Whilst a range of properties at significantly different cost points suggests an improved market overall, there are still concerns that the average picture continues to remain distorted due to popular areas commanding high house prices.
Find the full HM Land Registry report here.
Have you seen an increase in the number of houses being sold? Is this data representative of the areas you work in? What implications will this have on the conveyancing sector?
