HMRC shows transactions down 9.6% month on month – Industry reaction

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented

“Scary reading on the face of it, but it’s important to note that this data is reported with a bit of a lag and so the level of transactions being relayed are really those accepted back in March.

With many of us, perhaps foolishly, believing we would be exiting the EU at the end of March, it stands to reason that the vast majority of buyers may have refrained from a sale until this event had passed.

Therefore any dip in transactions should be viewed as a momentary stutter and with many other market indicators suggesting a return to form and growing levels of buyer demand over the last few months, we should start to see the number of properties being sold climb from here on in.”

Founder and CEO of Springbok Properties, Shepherd Ncube, commented:

“A lull in transactions will come as a cause for concern in what is currently a rather fragile market landscape, however, the broader picture simply doesn’t suggest a market that is on its knees.

Homebuyer appetite is alive and well and while many may not want to fill up on bread until the main course of Brexit is finally served, we are on course to see a healthy level of properties transact this year regardless.

We can only hope that a new prime minister doesn’t rock the boat and in fact, he could help to steady it to a degree. But while suggestions of housing first initiatives such as a transferral of stamp duty tax to the seller may help boost buyer demand, we must be sure not to restrict the flow of housing stock reaching the market by deterring sellers financially.”