House sales up by nearly a fifth in November compared to last year – but the new Covid variant ‘could be a stumbling block’
- Some 115,190 transactions took place in November 2020, marking a 19.3% lift
- There have been signs of buyers rushing to beat a stamp duty holiday deadline
- The ‘nil rate’ was increased to £500,000 from July 8 2020 to March 31 2021
The number of homes sold in November was nearly a fifth higher than in the same month a year earlier, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Some 115,190 transactions took place in November 2020, marking an 8.6 per cent increase compared with October and 19.3 per cent higher than in November 2019.
There have been signs of buyers rushing to beat a stamp duty holiday deadline but some fear the new strain of Covid could be a ‘stumbling block’ to the upward trend.
The number of homes sold in November was nearly a fifth higher than in the same month a year earlier, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
Gareth Lewis, commercial director of property lender MT Finance, revealed that his firm has already had a couple of valuations pulled at the last minute.
Commenting on the situation he said: ‘It is encouraging to see the trend for property transactions continue on its upwards trajectory, with plenty of demand and purchases going through.
‘We expect the market to go from strength to strength in the new year as long as stricter lockdowns don’t preclude people from doing their jobs, such as carrying out valuations. Concerns over the new strain of Covid could prove to be a stumbling block.’
The ‘nil rate’ band for residential stamp duty is said to behind the house sales boost. It was increased to £500,000 from July 8 2020 to March 31 2021 for transactions in England and Northern Ireland.
Similar measures were introduced in Scotland and Wales from July 15 2020 and July 27 2020 respectively.
The coronavirus lockdown has also sparked house sales, with families seeking bigger properties to allow them to work comfortably from home with gardens and parking.
Zoopla says that an extra £62 billion of housing sales have been agreed this year off the back of a post-lockdown mini-boom.
The property website estimates that overall sales in 2020 increased from about £238billion to £300billion in value, with high numbers of affluent movers helping to lift the figure.
The ‘nil rate’ band for residential stamp duty is said to behind the house sales boost. It was increased to £500,000 from July 8 2020 to March 31 2021
On the flip side, UK house sales were down by 50 per cent in April and May this year compared with the same period a year earlier, following the impact of coronavirus restrictions.
But since then, sales have been climbing monthly, which HMRC said had reflected the gradual easing of coronavirus public health restrictions for the property market and the introduction of residential transaction tax holidays within the UK.
Looking ahead Jeremy Leaf, a north London estate agent and a former residential chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), said: ‘Transactions are always a better indicator of market health than more volatile house prices.
‘However, despite these numbers showing a still-accelerating trend, they reflect sales which were agreed several months previously.
‘Since then, the market has been moving closer to hibernation as is traditional at this time of year.
‘It will be a few months at least before transactions fall in line with the reduced activity that we have been seeing on the ground over the past few weeks.
‘Nevertheless, prospects for 2021 remain relatively positive bearing in mind the determination of the overwhelming majority of buyers and sellers to complete their moves, even if inevitably some will miss the stamp duty deadline.’