There has been a decline in the number of homebuyers purchasing properties recently, with residential sales dropping by more than half from September to October.
The latest government figures revealed the provisionally seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions last month was 76,930. This is 28.2 per cent down on the number recorded in October 2020, as well as being a 52 per cent drop from September’s numbers.
According to the data, last October had the lowest number of sales since October 2012.
The figures are likely to be skewed by the stamp duty deadline of the end of September, with many homebuyers trying to get their purchases through before having to pay extra on taxes.
To provide a boost to the housing market following the coronavirus pandemic, the government abolished stamp duty on the first £500,000 on residential purchases made between July 8th 2020 and September 30th 2021. This meant buyers could save as much as £15,000 when buying a home, explaining why they were keen to get the transaction completed before October.
Personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Sarah Coles told the Guardian these figures are not much of a surprise, saying: “We always see drops like this after the end of a tax break, and we tend to see buyers hunker down for winter, so the combination of the two was always going to mean a quieter few months.”
She added the decline looks even greater because it came after a peak due to the stamp duty holiday, whereas many of the sales made in September would have otherwise taken place during October instead.
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