New build home sales registrations fell substantially in April compared with last year

There was a 15% decrease in new build sales registered in England and Wales in April compared with the same month in 2018, the latest official figures show.

Overall there were 74,683 sales registrations with the Land Registry in the month. Freehold sales fell by 1.8% year on year but the 15% fall on new build registrations was much higher.

Month on month registered property sales fell from the 88,531 recorded in March. A breakdown in the figures shows that the number of flats fell from 16,832 in March to 13,345 in April.

Detached house registrations fell from 19,119 in March to 16,137 in April, while semi-detached figures were down from 22,815 to 19,430.Meanwhile, terraced sales fell from 23,435 to 20,041.

The data also shows that 394 were of residential properties in England and Wales for £1 million and over and 242 were of residential properties in Greater London for £1 million and over.

Only three were of residential properties in West Midlands for more than £1 million, four were of residential properties in Greater Manchester for more than £1 million and there were no residential properties in Wales for more than £1 million.

The most expensive residential property sold was in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea at £30,000,000 and the cheapest residential property sold was in Burnley for £16,000.

The most expensive commercial sale was in City of Westminster for £78,000,000 and the cheapest commercial sales were in Bury St Edmunds, Waverley, Lewisham, Birmingham and Enfield for £500 each.