Property transactions have increased by 14% between the second and third quarters of 2019.
The 268,400 transactions in the second quarter of the year were dwarfed by the 305,100 transactions completed between June and September.
This was obviously good news for Government coffers with Stamp Duty Land Tax contributions increasing by a fifth and surpassing £3.1 billion worth of tax receipts in the process.
Overall, residential receipts had increased by a quarter between Q2 and Q3 whilst non-residential receipts increased by 7% which falls in line with the figures from the third quarter of 2018.
61,200 first-time buyers claimed stamp duty relief in the third quarter of the year.
Since the relief’s introduction, 401,900 first-time buyers have been relieved of stamp duty.
Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, commented:
“A healthy increase in stamp duty tax receipts demonstrates the slow but steady property landscape we’ve seen over the course of the year.
“While price growth may have stuttered, we continue to see sales transact and while many first-time buyers have benefited from stamp duty relief, many other homebuyers will still be wondering why they are still forced to pay an archaic land tax introduced to fund a war against France.
“Albeit, in the current context of Brexit, some might argue we are indeed still ‘at war’.”
Shaun Church, director at Private Finance, commented:
“A pre-Brexit rush saw stamp duty receipts soar by 20% over the summer as many movers looked to complete their house purchases in advance of what was anticipated to be the UK’s departure from the EU.
“A further extension to Brexit, combined with a general election and Christmas, might be expected to quell any further flurry of activity into Q4. But in reality, the patience of many buyers has been depleted and we could be set to see buyers resuming their search, defying the uncertainty that continues to rumble on. With house price growth continuing to ease in the face of this uncertainty, buyers willing to make a move over the next few months could stand to gain a potential property bargain.”
