According to the figures, the seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of residential property transactions increased by 3.5% between March 2018 and April 2018. This month’s seasonally adjusted figure is 2.7% lower compared with the same month last year.
Neil Knight, Business Development Director of Spicerhaart Part Exchange & Assisted Move said: "The latest HMRC non-adjusted figures show that there has been a drop in house sales compared to last month and compared to this time last year.
A drop in housing transactions can be a sign of a downturn in the housing market as a whole, and we have seen asking prices drop in some areas. However, I don’t think we should read too much into it, as the market is still up on where it was in January and February.
Going forward, I don’t anticipate any major change. On a positive note, last month’s construction output figures from the ONS for new-builds was strong, and this, combined with the continuing popularity of help to buy, and the fact things tend to pick up in the summer months could see new-build transactions start to rise.”
Mike Scott, chief property analyst at Yopa, said: "The HMRC figures show some recovery from March’s poor performance, suggesting that the downturn was at least partly due to the bad weather.
June is the peak month for house sales, so as long as the figures continue to hold up for the next couple of months, the total number of sales in 2018 may not be much different from 2017, at around 1.2 million. This is despite the slower start to the year.
The fundamentals for the housing market still appear favourable, with interest rates remaining on hold, mortgage lenders still lending and average earnings now rising faster than house prices."
Kevin Roberts, Director at Legal & General Mortgage Club commented: "A lack of appropriate housing stock and rising demand continues to squeeze the bottleneck in our housing market. Preventing any real momentum from forming, it is limiting the options for those looking to step on the property ladder, or up, or downsize. For us to see a real push in numbers, we need the Government to build around 300,000 homes per year to keep up demand.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom and the housing market is still performing well. Near record low mortgage rates combined with increased product innovation means now is a great time to speak with a mortgage broker to secure a competitive deal ahead of any future rises.”
Jeremy Leaf, North London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, says: "For us, it’s always transactions rather than prices that represent the better test of market strength.
These numbers show a small increase for April reflecting sales agreed over the past few months, as well as what we’ve found on the high street.
We’re seeing a determination among those buyers and sellers recognising the new realistic pricing moving on, whereas those still wedded to price levels prevailing 12, or even six, months ago, are getting left behind.
Looking forward, we expect more of the same as we enter the spring market, which sets the tone for a steady rather than spectacular rest of the year for activity."
