March HMRC monthly transaction data shows that while the number of residential transactions are down on the previous year, month-to-date levels continue to increase by almost 20% as we move further into the Spring.
Today’s HMRC data showed that the cost of living crisis is yet to impact figures as provisional non-seasonally adjusted property sales were 110,990 in March, 36.2% lower than March 2021, but 18.2% higher than February 2022.
The provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate of UK non-residential transactions in March 2022 was 12,470, 5.7% lower than March 2021 and 36.6% higher than February 2022.
Commenting on HMRC’s property transaction figures, Jonathan Sealey, CEO, of specialist lender Hope Capital said:
“While last month’s residential and non-residential property transactions are significantly lower than they were in March 2021, the latest statistics reveal that they have however increased significantly compared to the first two months in 2022.
As a lender, typically springtime is a period where property transactions spike and of course, this time last year, we were starting to roadmap out of the UK’s third national lockdown. Therefore, the figures recorded last year were unsurprisingly going to be higher than this year.
Even with the uncertainty in the economy, we are still experiencing a surge in enquiries for a mixture of property types, which is positive to see. Looking ahead, we hope to see transaction figures continue to climb throughout the year and we will carry on playing our part by delivering competitive products to support all types of borrowers.”
Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, commented:
“Removing the distortive effect of stamp duty changes, property transactions in March this year were the highest they have been for the month in ten years. Sky-high demand continues to fuel the UK housing market as the country moves beyond the pandemic. However, we expect this to calm down later this year as mortgage rates creep up and the cost-of-living squeeze tightens. Furthermore, double-digit house price growth will slow to single digits as supply picks up and the housing market feels more tethered to the economy.”
Nick Leeming, Chairman at Jackson-Stops, said:
“There is always a flurry of activity in the spring, with transactions, buyers and sellers at this time of year all contributing to a blossoming property market. Our recent research looked at what is typically regarded as the ‘spring bounce’ and found that in March over the last 10 years transactions increased by an average of 28%. Whilst today’s figures are slightly lower than that, we’re still seeing that typical flourish of activity.”
