HMRC has reported that the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK property transactions for October 2019 was 103,680 residential and 10,960 non-residential transactions.
Residential property transactions in October 2019 were 4.3% higher than October 2018, and 4.3% higher than September 2019.
Meanwhile, the provisional seasonally adjusted count of non-residential property transactions in October 2019 is 4.8% higher than October 2018, and 13.6% higher than September 2019.
Gareth Lewis, commercial director of property lender MT Finance, said: “It is positive to see a marginal uplift in property transactions, particularly as there was an element of stagnation creeping into the market at the back end of the summer. There is activity in the marketplace, especially over the past couple of weeks, when we have seen a spike in transactions.
“There is nothing like an approaching year-end to focus the mind and spur people on to get things done. There is a bit of a buzz around as people try to close transactions by the end of the year. There was a worry that things would slow down dramatically until the election outcome was known, but thankfully this doesn’t seem to be the case.”
Mark Harris, chief executive of SPF Private Clients, added: “The fact that transactions have edged up slightly compared with last month and last year is encouraging.
“However, these figures also demonstrate that there isn’t a great deal of activity going on in the purchase market as many buyers take a wait and see approach until Brexit and the general election are out of the way. Until then, the situation is unlikely to change radically.
“Only those who really have to move, for whatever reason, are doing so. For them, there are some excellent mortgage opportunities available with lenders cutting rates in an effort to attract business.”