Property Transactions Down in August in Typical Seasonal Slump

The latest official property transactions statistics, for August 2017, from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) show that sales were down last month in a typical seasonal slump.

The provisional seasonally adjusted UK property transactions count for August was 103,490 residential and 10,600 non-residential sales.

The seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of residential property transactions dropped by 0.5% on a monthly basis in August, but is up by 6.6% on an annual basis – the same level as transactions in August 2015.

HMRC warns that caution should be used when making comparisons of transactions between August 2016 and 2017, as some taxpayers may have changed their behaviour as they considered the result of this year’s snap General Election and the EU referendum in June last year.

For August, the number of non-adjusted residential property transactions was around 6.6% higher than in July, and 5.6% up on August 2016.

The figures for the three most recent months are provisional, and are therefore subject to revision.

The Managing Director of West One Loans, Stephen Wasserman, comments on the data: “With widespread speculation about when a base rate rise will happen, it’s to be expected that there is some knock-on for the property market. However, we are confident that the sector will show its much-admired resilience, especially from an investor perspective, over the coming months, due to the fundamental supply and demand mismatch in this country.

“With the UK set to leave the EU in March 2019, there is going to be a lengthy period of uncertainty, but we are hopeful that the property sector can provide continued stability for investors and consumers alike. As the market picks up again, it is crucial that investors understand all the financing options that are available to them, which includes specialist solutions, such as bridging loans, a sector which has seen solid growth in the second quarter of the year.”

We remind all portfolio landlords to be aware of the new underwriting rules being introduced at the end of this month. A guide to the changes can be accessed here: /landlords-guide-pra-portfolio-underwriting-changes/