Property Watch – April 2023 UK residential property transactions
The graph below shows the UK housing market transactions for the year to 30 April 2023 with comparatives for the same period to April 2022, as reported by HMRC through Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) reporting.
Monthly residential property transactions May 2021 to April 2023
* February 2023 to April 2023 figures are provisional due to delays in collecting all relevant SDLT/LTT/LBTT reporting.
The graph above shows:
- The April 2023 residential property transactions amounted to 67,220 transactions which was 32.5% down from April 2022 and 29.2 % down from March 2023.
- Not shown in the above graph, but the April 2023 transactions were lower than the April 2019 (pre-COVID) transactions by 20,640 transactions (23.5% lower).
- The Bank of England base rate remained at 4.25% in April 2023 (0.75% in April 2022).
The transactions split by location in April 2023 were as follows:
| No. | % | |
|---|---|---|
| England | 56,400 | 83.9% |
| Scotland | 6,260 | 9.3% |
| Wales | 3,000 | 4.5% |
| Northern Ireland | 1,560 | 2.3% |
| 67,220 | 100.0% |
Key points to note:
- The transaction spike in June 2021 as a result of the end of the £500k SDLT holiday enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The September 2021 transaction spike was a result of the end of the £250k SDLT holiday enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The March 2023 transactions in the above graph are 130 higher than those reported in our March 2023 issue of this circular (which can be viewed here: Property Watch March) this is a result of more data being collected throughout the last month to support the transaction data reported.
- The April 2022 transaction figures were revised down last month to 84,610 transactions from 99,510 transactions and were revised again up to 99,520 in the current month’s reporting, there is therefore some uncertainty over the accuracy of the April 2022 reported transactions.
UK residential property transaction prices to March 2023
The latest residential price data, as provided by HM Land Registry to March 2023 (so a month out of sync with the transaction data above) shows that prices were 4.1% up at an average price of £285,009 compared to March 2022’s average of £273,787.
Residential property prices are 22.5% up from March 2020 (Commencement of COVID) where the average was £232,684 per the Land Registry data.
Although year-on-year property prices are higher, March 2023 saw the fourth consecutive month of property price reductions.
The graphs below show the change in average residential property transaction values over the past four years and the monthly change in the year to March 2023.
Please note that the above data and trends may not be consistent with published data from other data collectors such as property sites (Rightmove etc.) or the banks and the data is liable to change as the Land registry receives additional market information.
Ballards LLP’s property team has extensive experience acting for property-related businesses and can assist investors, developers, and associated trades with all financial property matters including; tax-efficient structuring, SDLT planning, Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings planning and reporting, and any other financial matters associated with property ownership. We act for all sizes of businesses.
If you would like to find out how we can help please contact Martin Adams, Tax Partner, at martin.adams@ballardsllp.com or on 01905 794 504.
To view past editions of this circular and other topical tax and business insights please visit [Ballards Insights]
Chi Duong, a Tax Associate at Ballards LLP, assisted in the preparation of this article.
Contains HM Revenue & Customs © Crown copyright data.
Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2020. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Disclaimer. This article has been prepared for information purposes only. Formal professional advice is strongly recommended before making decisions on the topics discussed in this release. No responsibility for any loss to any person acting, or not acting, as a result of this release can be accepted by us, or any person affiliated with us.
