The latest set of figures to be released by HMRC show that there was a sizeable increase in residential transactions over the course of November 2024, when compared to the same month in 2023.
These rose by 19% year-on-year, with November producing a total of 104,440 residential transactions. That is the figure when looked at without seasonal adjustments. When those have been factored in, the rise was 13% – not as high but still a significant increase on the total for the same month the year before.
The situation changes somewhat if the number of residential transactions for November is compared with that of the month before though. In that comparison, there was a drop of 8% – with seasonal adjustments added in. If those seasonal factors are not included, the drop from October to November was 6%.
Non-residential property transaction numbers declined during November, whether viewed monthly or annually. By the latter comparison, the fall was 5%, while by the former it was 33%.
October was the month when the Budget was announced and it brought rises in non-residential and residential deals, before figures returned to more standard levels in November. Jeremy Leaf, an estate agent, stated that the Budget appeared to stimulate market activity, at least initially.
He then went on to say that most industry observers felt that transaction levels would slow down during the upcoming period, due to difficult economic circumstances.
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