Residential transactions fall in October - HMRC

The number of homes sold the in the UK fell sharply in October, official data showed on Thursday.

According to the latest provisional statistics from HM Revenue & Customs, there was an estimated 90,920 residential transactions last month, 2% down on September and a 17% slide on October 2022.

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, sales fell 21% year-on-year and by 3% month-on-month to 82,910.

Non-residential transactions fared better, up 3% on September and less than 1% down on October 2022, at 9,930, on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Ken James, director at mortgage broker Contractor Mortgage Services, said: "The debacle that was the Liz Truss administration muted the property market throughout much of 2023 and is evident in this data.

"We have seen a marked improvement in the last quarter of the year: mortgage ranges creeping down and the base rate not increasing are boosting confidence. However, the market remains on thin ice."

Stephen Perkins, managing director at Yellow Brick Mortgages, said: "In terms of property transactions, 2023 and 2022 were worlds apart. This data reflects the period when monthly base rate increases really started to challenge the housing market and hit sentiment hard.

"Completions on the whole are also taking a lot longer, so this data may also reflect the fallout from the mind budget."

The Bank of England has increased interest rates 14 times since December 2021 - leaving them at 5.25%, the highest since 2008 - while the former prime minister’s widely-panned mini-budget last autumn caused mortgage rates to spike.

The data is based on records held by HMRC, Revenue Scotland and the Welsh Revenue Authority for stamp duty land tax, land and buildings transaction tax, and land transaction tax respectively.