UK house sales up a third as mortgage rates rises spur movers
Home sales in July were more than a third higher than in the same month last year, making it the most active month in 2022, according to the latest figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) today.
Residential deals hit 110,970 in July, some seven per cent higher than June of this year. However, HMRC cautioned that the figure will be particularly inflated because of the rush to complete transactions before the stamp duty holiday ended in June 2021.
The stronger levels of activity has been spurred by “rapidly” rising mortgage interest rates, according to the director of research at Savills, Lawrence Bowles.
“With rates continuing to increase, stronger levels of activity in July will in part be reflected by buyers accelerating their buying process to lock in lower costs of mortgage debt,” he said.
Richard Davies, managing director of Chestertons, added that the London-headquartered estate agents has seen a “clear uplift in the number of viewings and the number of buyers registering with our branches in July” and agreed that rates rises are a “driving factor behind house hunters wanting to move sooner rather than later.”
“Another reason that drives buyer enquiries is that the market is seeing a post-pandemic reshuffle,” Davied added, explaining that many house hunters put their search on hold during lockdown measures.
“We have since been registering enquiries from families wanting to finally make their move a reality as well as international students, international buyers and office workers who require a pied-à-terre closer to work again.”