Nick Leeming, Chairman at Jackson-Stops comments on today's HMRC property transaction data:
“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 ten 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.
“This increased interest in the spring happens for several reasons – we have brighter weather which lends itself to better photography for advertising, gardens begin to bloom and buyers come to market having had time over the winter to consider their priorities for the year, and vendors in turn respond to this demand. Today's figures highlight how these factors were accentuated in 2021 due to the pandemic and stamp duty holiday, reflected in the significant decrease in transactions on the year.
“Whilst current pricing levels are still tempting homeowners on to the market, the ongoing imbalance between stock and demand could serve to keep prices rising but transaction numbers tempered through the course of year. As the Great British love affair with home ownership shows no sign of abating, now is the time for vendors to list their property and capitalise on market conditions that continue to favour sellers."
*Using Land Registry data to calculate average number of transactions across each month, YOY and calculating percentage increase. This data excludes 2020, due to market closure, and 2021, to remove the stamp duty holiday impact.
Source: HMRC UK Monthly Property Transactions March 2022
