Residential property transaction completions climbed to a new record in August after reaching annual highs in June and July, the latest provisional figures from the HMRC show.
The number of seasonally-adjusted transactions was 106,480 in August, up from 103,310 in July and highest in the last 18 months.
Since the financial crisis monthly transaction levels hover around the 100,000 mark. The first time this year when transactions exceeded this benchmark was in June (104,590) and the number of transactions was the highest since March last year.
There was a slight dip in July, but transactions still remained higher than in any of the previous 12 months except June 2015.
The number of seasonally-adjusted transactions in August this year was 5.7 per cent higher than in the same month of the last.
Commenting on the HMRC data, Andy Sommerville, director of Search Acumen, said:
“There is much cause for optimism to see seasonally adjusted property transactions hit their highest point in more than 18 months, since before the introduction of the Mortgage Market Review in April 2014.
“We’re hopeful that rising wages, further economic growth, low levels of inflation, and low interest rates – which now look likely to continue until Christmas at least – will all propel further buyers to the market. However, there remains a slight uncertainty* over whether the intent to buy will remain strong over the next few months.
“At this point, no one wants to see fall-throughs in transactions. Conveyancers experienced their busiest Q2 of the post-recession era, but can’t afford to wait for business to walk in through the door; instead, they need to hone their competitive edge by offering top-notch service to draw in buyers and introducers.”
