Property transactions halved in a month with the removal of the final stamp duty discount

The provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in October 2021 is 76,930, 28.2% lower than October 2020 and 52.0% lower than September 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK non-residential transactions in October 2021 is 10,160, 10.4% higher than October 2020 and 1.0% higher than September 2021.

The provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in October 2021 is 85,090, 30.1% lower than October 2020 and 48.4% lower than September 2021.

The provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate of UK non-residential transactions in October 2021 is 10,460, 7.7% higher than October 2020 and 1.7% higher than September 2021.

Paul Stockwell, Chief Commercial Officer at Gatehouse Bank, comments: “Property transactions have halved in a month, coinciding with the removal of the final stamp duty discount, and this will undoubtedly mark the resumption of lower sales volumes moving forward.

“Transactions plummeted similarly after June’s stamp duty deadline, so it’s not surprising to see them fall in this way again.

“With the tax incentive now completely removed, we’ll see the back of these peaks and troughs as transactions settle into a more consistent pattern.

“This fall in sales signals that there is unlikely to be any long-term dividend for transactions as a result of the stamp duty holiday. House sales will likely return to the historic norms seen before the pandemic as the cost of moving becomes a factor again.”