MortgagesNov 24 2015

Residential property sales up 6.3% on last year

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Residential property sales up 6.3% on last year

Residential property purchases dropped on a monthly basis by 0.2 per cent in October compared with September, HM Revenue & Customs has reported.

However on a 12-month basis, October 2015 saw 6.3 per cent growth in residential property transactions, up from 99,290 in October 2014.

Andrew Bridges, managing director of London-based estate agents Stirling Ackroyd, said numbers matter when it comes to housing and while talk of prices gets the pulse racing, the number of people in new homes is the most permanent symptom of success in the property market.

He said: “On that measure the news is good – the residential market is moving again, with transactions growing at least as quickly as annual price rises across the UK.

“In the London market, we see this reflected in strong buyer enthusiasm, including from first-time buyers despite spiralling house prices.

“The danger of stamp duty changes frightening away buyers at the very top of the market has also not been as serious as was imagined – particularly away from London’s more traditional high-end enclaves, the top of the market is accelerating too.

“However – on current trends this won’t be enough to stave off future floods of demand. If numbers matter to the property industry, they matter even more to families and workers looking for places to live.

“To keep up with the pace of population, numbers need to start mattering to planning offices, to government departments – and to ministers.”

emma.hughes@ft.com