Figures show annual rise in housing transactions

January 16, 2026 by Brendan O'Neill

Property Market

The number of residential housing transactions rose last year in comparison with the year before, according to the latest property market figures to be released.

Those figures come from HMRC and they show a rise of 12% in residential transactions for the period from January to November 2025, as compared to the year before. What this suggests is that the property market in the UK was less affected by factors like the Autumn Budget and changes to taxation than had been forecast. It will be encouraging news for everyone from mortgage advisors to estate agents.

This is not the only good news to be found in the figures either. They reveal a total of 100,350 residential transactions during November. This is an increase of 1% on the total for the previous month and 8% compared with the same month in 2024.

However, it is important to bear in mind that these represent the seasonally adjusted figures. Without that adjustment, they are 12% lower month-on-month and 3% lower year-on-year.

Overall though, most industry observers will be happy with the figures. 2025 brought a couple of major events that could have impacted residential transactions. First there was the change to the stamp duty threshold in the spring and second there was the Autumn Budget uncertainty.

Jonathan Stinton from Coventry Building Society told Financial Reporter:

“We don’t know what the year ahead will bring, and there will always be curveballs, but last year showed that the market can absorb change and keep functioning.”

It means this year should see continued demand for CeMAP training courses.