Residential transactions in August have increased by around 5% year-on-year and are up 8% on the prior month, a report has stated.
According to the latest figures from HMRC, non-seasonally adjusted residential transactions came to 104,330. This is up from 94,600 in August last year and 8% higher than July 2024.
Seasonally adjusted residential transactions were estimated at 90,210, a jump from 85,620 last year. This is 1% down on July figures.
This brings the number of non-seasonally adjusted residential transactions for the financial year to date, which runs from April to August so far, to 461,210. This is up from 416,910 in the same period last year.
For seasonally adjusted residential transactions, the number of sales for the year stands at 453,360, an increase on 415,200 last year.
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Lower mortgage rates ‘helping improve’ residential transactions
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said lower mortgage rates were “helping improve activity in the market”.
“With one interest rate cut behind us and further to come, buyers are more confident about taking the plunge. It helps that lenders are engaged in a mortgage rate war, with Coventry Building Society today launching the market-leading five-year fix, pegged at 3.69%.
“Some lenders are also easing criteria to assist first-time buyers onto the ladder, with Nationwide prepared to lend up to six times income,” he said.
Harris added that with several sub-4% two- and five-year fixed rates, there was “increased choice” for buyers, which should “further boost transaction numbers this autumn, assuming the Budget doesn’t throw this off course.”
Tomer Aboody, director of specialist lender MT Finance, added that there had been “some further headwind[s] coming in after the election”, but there was “positivity and push due to lower interest rates and, in turn, more affordable mortgage rates”.
“While some buyers and sellers are waiting for a potential further decrease in rates, which will hopefully come before Christmas, others are taking the plunge having decided that another rate drop won’t significantly benefit their ability to purchase.
“As we await the Budget, which has been suggested will be ‘painful’, further activity in the market might stall as people await the fallout,” he explained.
