Tax changes due to take effect in April, when there will be an additional 3% stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on the purchase of a second home, are having an impact on the market according to the latest HMRC figures on UK property transactions, which show there was a 5.5% increase in the number of residential property transactions between January and February
HMRC has released SDLT data which indicates the provisional seasonally adjusted UK property transaction count for February 2016 was 114,560 residential and 11,080 non-residential transactions.
The accompanying analysis notes that from February 2014 to April 2015, the number of seasonally adjusted transactions stabilised at around 100,000 per month but has since risen steadily.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of residential property transactions increased by 5.5% between January 2016 and February 2016, traditionally a time when transaction rates are lower than in the summer months. This month’s seasonally adjusted figure is 16.1% higher compared with the same month last year.
For February 2016 the number of non-adjusted residential transactions was about 10.9% higher compared with January 2016. The number of non-adjusted residential transactions was 20.4% higher than in February 2015.
HMRC’s data on UK property sales is here
To keep up to speed with the latest developments in property tax, go to our Property Tax section
