House sales fall by nearly a quarter in just a month

PROPERTY sales dropped by almost a quarter in April – but experts insisted the market remained robust.

There was a 22.5 per cent fall in residential property transactions from March to April, according to HM Revenue and Customs.

Meanwhile other data released by credit-checking company Equifax showed a 16 per cent drop in mortgage sales.

But industry insiders argued that there were often big variations from month to month and it did not necessarily point to a sharp contraction.

Tax changes also sparked a scramble to exchange contracts in March, as landlords were hit with a cut to relief on second homes at the start of April. HMRC said sales had fallen from 107,090 to 83,010. But, taking seasonal variations into account, the fall was just 3.2 per cent.

Equifax, meanwhile, said that buy-to-let mortgages fell 20.4 per cent to £2.2billion.

The drop for residential borrowing was 15.1 per cent or £2.1billion. John Driscoll, from the firm, said: ‘Mortgage figures have nosedived following a strong first quarter, with every single region experiencing a notable slump in sales.

He warned: ‘Government intervention, coupled with uncertainty surrounding the election, means we’re likely to see more volatility in coming months.’

Mr Driscoll added: ‘The big question is where figures will go from here – this time of year is tradition- ally fairly buoyant for house-buying, but there may be too much uncertainty on the horizon to see an immediate rebound.’

Meanwhile Brian Murphy, of the Mortgage Advice Bureau, said that a better comparison for the HMRC figures was the first four months of 2015, before the Government began its blitz on landlords.

Compared to this period, he stressed, sales so far in 2017 are up 5.5 per cent.

‘ One could suggest that the decrease in transactions between March 2017 and April 2017 is normal, and in line with usual seasonal expectations,’ Mr Murphy insisted.

He added: ‘The housing market in the UK remains steady, with consumer confidence unfaltering in bricks and mortar.’

And Shaun Church, of lender Private Finance, said: ‘The upcoming election is unlikely to be having a significant effect on property transactions, particularly as the residential market took last year’s Brexit vote in its stride.

He explained: ‘The main reason behind weaker transaction figures remains the changes to stamp duty, which have particularly limited activity towards the upper end of the housing market.’

Halifax said earlier this month that house prices had suffered their first quarterly drop for more than four years.

The average home cost £219,649 in April, a fall of 0.2 per cent over the course of three months.

Nationwide said that prices fell for the second month in a row in April.

However, economists suggested prices were stagnating rather than starting to plunge.

‘We’re likely to see more volatility’