Third quarter brought drop in house purchases

December 18, 2021 by Brendan O'Neill

Property Market

The third quarter of this year saw the number of houses purchased in the UK decline by 26% compared with the second quarter, according to new figures released by UK Finance.

However, despite that drop, the overall situation when it comes to property purchases remains positive. The figure may have been lower in the third quarter of 2021 compared with the second one, but it was still 10% above that of the third quarter of 2019 – before the start of the Covid-19 crisis.

The lending situation was also healthy in the last quarter, rising by 36% in comparison to same period last year both for those moving from one home to another and first-time homebuyers.

There was a considerable degree of regional variance though, with the North of England seeing stronger growth than the South. This is being attributed to the fact that the stamp duty holiday that was still in effect then and was primarily beneficial to those buying houses within a lower price range.

Speaking to Financial Reporter, Erik Leenders from UK Finance said:

“Consumers continued their return to business-as-usual in Q3 2021, with a further increase in household spending and particular strength in the mortgage market in the final phase of the stamp duty holiday.”

The figures for the fourth quarter will be the first since both this holiday and Covid-19 support measures ended, and they are expected to give a truer impression of the market.

CeMAP training also remains popular, with people aiming to enter a healthy sector as mortgage advisors.