The impact of the SDLT deadline on 31st March was evident in the latest figures from HMRC which showed sizeable uplifts in transactions from February 2025 and March 2024. The provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in March is 177,370, which is 104% higher than March 2024 and 62% higher than February 2025.
The non-seasonally adjusted monthly residential property transactions for March reveal the third highest month-on-month increase since records began – up 80% from February.
While the post-SLDT deadline rise was expected, industry leaders believe it indicates strong consumer confidence and offers a promising glimpse into future activity. ‘Crucially, the foundations for sustained activity moving forward look positive’, said Iain McKenzie, CEO of the Guild of Property Professionals.
He continued:
“Perhaps most significantly, the improving landscape for mortgage rates, combined with the growing expectation of interest cuts later in the year, should provide a floor for activity. These factors should help bolster buyer confidence and affordability.
“So, while the first quarter of this year reflects a unique snapshot influenced by the tax deadline, the underlying drivers – resilient demand, positive seasonality and improving financial conditions – give us solid grounds for cautious optimism about the health and direction of the property market throughout the rest of 2025.”
The sentiment was echoed across the industry, with calls for lessons to be learned from this and previous surges and a focus on technology to ease demand and build consumer confidence.
Mark Tosetti, CEO of Conveyancing Alliance (CAL) said:
“As with past stamp duty changes, at times the pressure that can be seen across different areas of the property sector was intense. We hope the whole industry took lessons from earlier surges. We worked closely with our conveyancing partners to prepare early, manage capacity and avoid bottlenecks.”
Mel Spencer, sales and growth lead at financial services tech company Target Group, also pushed for a focus on capacity. Commenting on the HMRC figures, she urged conveyancers to examine operations to manage fluctuating demand:
“Opinion formers have been talking about ‘momentum’. They should be talking about ‘capacity’. If brokers and lenders and conveyancers don’t look at increasing capacity soon, teams that were built for a quieter, slower property environment will start to run too hot in a race that’s more competitive than envisaged a year or two ago.
“There are two answers.The first is to start hiring furiously, ramping up in the way the sector always has done in the face of up-cycles. That’s a short-term solution and it’s somewhat antediluvian now. The second option is to innovate and invest. Scaling via technology is a far better bet over the medium to long-term.”
The same message was shared by Maria Harris, chair of the Open Property Data Association. In response to the HMRC announcement, she said:
“We know that homebuying transaction volumes are closely aligned with consumer confidence, yet the home buying and selling process remains a frustrating one for consumers and the industry, often resulting in a poor experience for everyone.
“Simplifying and improving transparency in property transactions, for buyers, sellers and professionals alike, has never been more urgent. But to achieve this, we need government and industry to deliver accessible, trustable and secure data. Digitising property information and enabling it to be shared through open standards is a critical step toward the transformation the industry so badly needs.”
Non-residential transactions have also seen a substantive increase, with the March seasonally adjusted figures 10% higher than the previous month. ‘Investors were drawn to shopping centres and warehouses as retail emerged as the leading sector, delivering strong returns’, Andrew Lloyd, the managing director of legal technology company Search Acumen explained.
Echoing calls for a drive towards digital efficiency, Lloyd added:
“While earnings grow and steady demand for commercial property point towards a promising summer, transaction processes remain plagued by time-consuming inefficiencies that risk stalling market activity at a critical moment.
“The evidence is clear. Embracing digital tools to modernise current antiquated procedures will help unlock the full potential of the market.”
