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Home.co.uk

News: UK property sales cool in winter

Thu, 07 Jan 16

UK property sales suffered the traditional seasonal slowdown in the final months of 2015, according to the latest figures from HMRC.

November saw 101,960 UK property transactions on a seasonally adjusted basis – down 5.7 per cent month-on-month from October’s total of 108,130.

Nonetheless, sales climbed 3 per cent year-on-year, as first-time buyers gradually manage to get onto the bottom rung of the house ladder.

Richard Sexton, director of chartered surveyor e.surv comments: "First-time buyers hold the key to the fortunes of the property market. Rising wages, low inflation and delayed interest rate rises have all played their part in helping first-timers onto the property ladder. However, there is more work to be done to get the market firmly back on its feet."

Andrew Bridges, managing director of Stirling Ackroyd, adds: "Seeing more people in new homes is what it’s all about in the run up to Christmas. But for Londoners around the capital this is a distant dream for far too many. As transactions dip, all sides of the housing market feel the effects. Stamp duty changes appear to have caused concern at the top end and for those at the bottom - it’s a constant tussle with affordability.

"Only a rising number of new builds and new homes can deal with drastic demand - and these need to be top of both the government’s, and the future mayor’s resolution list in the New Year."

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