Strong end of year for house sales

House sales jumped by nearly a third in December 2020 compared with a year earlier, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures show.

An estimated 129,400 house sales were recorded in December 2020, nearly a third higher than December 2019 and 13.1 per cent higher than in November 2020.

It marked the strongest month of December in the past decade and the first time since 2015 that house sales have topped 100,000 in that month.

HMRC said the jump is likely to reflect the continued release of pentup demand within the property market since the start of the coronavirus lockdowns in March, alongside the effect of a temporary stamp duty (LBTT in Scotland) holiday which expires in March.

Between April and December 2020, 750,540 sales are estimated to have taken place, lower overall than the 880,580 sales recorded in the same period a year earlier.

Anna Clare Harper, chief executive of asset manager SPI Capital, said: “These figures represent recovery rather than boom.”

She added: “Transactions have been dominated by second-time buyers, typically trading up to improve their surroundings, rather than first-time buyers getting a foot on the ladder.”

Mike Scott, chief analyst at estate agency Yopa, said: “This is a good result, since the housing market was effectively closed from late March to midmay, and means there was a considerable amount of catch-up in the second half.”

House sales plunged by around 50 per cent in April and May 2020 compared with April and May 2019, caused by the economic impacts and restrictions relating to the coronavirus pandemic, the report said.