Home sales have appeared to increase by 13% between May and June this year, although HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC’s) data is provisional, and is therefore subject to revision.
For June, the number of non-adjusted residential property transactions was around 13% higher than in May. On an annual basis, the amount has dropped by 8.8%.
Taking the seasonally adjusted estimates, home sales decreased by 3% between May and June, while transactions were down by 5.7% on June last year.
The provisional seasonally adjusted UK property transaction count for June was 96,340 home sales and 9,710 non-residential transactions.
In response to the latest figures, Neil Knight, the Business Development Director of Spicerhaart Part Exchange & Assisted Move, comments: “The number of (non-seasonally adjusted) residential transactions was 13% higher in June compared with last month. This is a bigger rise than May’s 12.1% increase and has most likely been boosted by first time buyers, who, according to data released this week, outnumbered home movers in the first half of 2018 for the first time ever.
“At the moment, it appears that it is first time buyers – being incentivised by schemes like Help to Buy – purchasing new builds that are driving both the property and mortgage markets. This is supported by last week’s (non-seasonally adjusted) construction output figures from the ONS, which showed that, while all new construction work was up just 1% on the previous year, output on new housing was up 5.7%.
“And, while it is encouraging to see steady growth in the new build sector, if we want to keep the market moving, we need to be looking at building a wider variety of properties and residential developments, so that home movers and downsizers have options too. Developers often choose new build schemes aimed at first time buyers because there is no chain, so it is easier to sell the properties and move on.”