Property sales in England and Wales fell by 3.3% between May and June 2017 but this was 1% higher than a year ago, the latest official data shows.
The figures published by HMRC of transactions completed by the Land Registry, also shows that non-residential property sales fell by 5.5%, some 10.3% lower compared with the same month last year.
However, HMRC points out that caution should be used when making comparisons between the level of transactions in June 2017 and June 2016. This was associated with the introduction of the higher tax rates on additional properties in April 2016.
Overall the Land Registry completed more than 1,690,200 applications and the South East topped the table of regional applications with 394,377 and Birmingham topped the table of applications by local authority area with 25,271.
Stephen Wasserman, managing director of West One Loans, said that the housing market is still resilient despite a dip in sales. ‘We’re confident transactions will pick up again in the coming months as the sector recovers from the initial shockwaves from the election,’ he said.
‘We are in a period of prolonged economic uncertainty, and during this time its important borrowers are aware of the range of financing options available to them. We’re seeing steady growth in investors taking out bridging loans, making the most of the flexibility and quick turnaround times they offer,’ he added.
According to Doug Crawford, chief executive officer of My Home Move, while the fall is disappointing, they are probably due to political uncertainty surrounding the snap general election rather than a major downward trend.
‘The hope for the housing market is that we will now have a period of relative stability, providing confidence to those who have held off from moving homes. The summer is traditionally a time of boom for the market as people look to be in their new homes before the start of the next school year, so this should help the numbers move upwards rather than down,’ he said.
