UK monthly property transactions commentary
Updated 21 June 2022
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UK monthly property transactions statistics notes
Temporary increases to nil rate bands for residential property taxes and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have all produced uncertainties underlying seasonal trends since around April 2020. Seasonally adjusted statistics should therefore be treated with additional caution.
Headline statistics
The latest transactions data demonstrates the following:
- the provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in May 2022 is 100,870, 2.0% lower than May 2021 and 1.6% higher than April 2022
- the provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate of UK non-residential transactions in May 2022 is 10,250, 9.7% higher than May 2021 and 0.4% higher than April 2022
- the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in May 2022 is 109,210, 5.1% lower than May 2021 and 1.3% higher than April 2022
- the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK non-residential transactions in May 2022 is 10,950, 4.6% higher than May 2021 and 6.1% higher than April 2022
About this release
These HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) National Statistics provide monthly provisional estimates of residential and non-residential property transactions in the UK and its constituent countries.
Statistics are based upon records by HMRC, Revenue Scotland and the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) for Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Land Transaction Tax (LTT) respectively.
The latest release was published 09:30 21 June 2022 and was updated with provisional data from completed transactions during May 2022. The next release will be published 09:30 21 July 2022 and will be updated with provisional data from completed transactions during June 2022.
The ‘Monthly property transactions completed in the UK with value of £40,000 or above’ statistical release is Crown Copyright. The information can be used as long as the source is clearly described.
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
On 23 March 2020 the UK government announced a UK wide lockdown, including restrictions for the property market. During the summer of 2020, restrictions (including those for the property market) were gradually removed.
Following this first lockdown, the UK government introduced several more regional and national lockdowns in England, the last of which ended on 19 July 2021. The housing market in England remained active during all but the first lockdown.
Public health is the responsibility of devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This caused differences in the management of coronavirus controls following the first UK wide lockdown and property transactions patterns within different areas of the UK.
The latest statistics
The latest statistics section provides UK residential and non-residential transactions estimates during the previous 3 years. To demonstrate any underlying trends within the data, seasonally adjusted transactions estimates are also provided alongside non-seasonally adjusted transactions estimates.
Caution is advised when interpreting the latest estimates due to their provisional status. Estimates for the latest month are based upon incomplete data as not all SDLT, LBTT and LTT returns from completed transactions during that month will have been received by HMRC, Revenue Scotland and WRA respectively when figures are compiled.
We therefore expect statistics to be revised in future months, although transactions figures generally settle after approximately 3 months.
Figure 1: Non-seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted UK residential property transactions by month between May 2019 and May 2022, in thousand transactions.
Figure 1 demonstrates the following trends for UK residential transactions:
- in recent months, UK residential transactions have stabilised but remain somewhat elevated compared to before the coronavirus pandemic, for example the provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate in May 2022 is 100,870 compared to 97,040 in May 2019
- following substantial decreases during the spring of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, UK residential transactions gradually increased in subsequent months, alongside large peaks in March, June, and September 2021 caused by temporarily increased nil rate bands of property taxes
- between May 2019 and March 2020, UK residential transactions followed a seasonal but stable trend, with higher transactions during summer and autumn months and lower transactions during the remaining months
Figure 2: Non-seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted UK non-residential property transactions by month between May 2019 and May 2022, in thousand transactions.
Figure 2 demonstrates the following trends for UK non-residential transactions:
- in recent months, UK non-residential transactions have stabilised but remain somewhat elevated compared to before the coronavirus pandemic, for example the provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate in May 2022 is 10,250 compared to 10,000 in May 2019
- following year on year decreases in April and May 2020 of around 45% due to the coronavirus pandemic, non-residential transactions have followed a generally increasing trend during subsequent months.
- between May 2019 and February 2020, UK non-residential transactions had been stable but had followed a very gradually decreasing trend
UK residential transactions
Residential property refers to buildings used or suitable for use as a dwelling, or in the process of being constructed for use as a dwelling. It also includes the gardens and grounds of dwellings. Go to HMRC Stamp Duty Land Tax Manual for more definitions of residential and non-residential properties.
The following section provides detailed analysis of UK residential transactions. To demonstrate any underlying trends within the data, seasonally adjusted transactions estimates are also provided alongside non-seasonally adjusted transactions estimates.
Figure 3: Year on year comparisons of non-seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted UK residential transactions in May between 2013 and 2022, in thousand transactions.
| Month and year | Non-seasonally adjusted | Seasonally adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| May 2013 | 91,270 | 88,810 |
| May 2014 | 103,110 | 103,020 |
| May 2015 | 97,800 | 101,110 |
| May 2016 | 83,000 | 88,840 |
| May 2017 | 96,490 | 101,230 |
| May 2018 | 95,340 | 100,610 |
| May 2019 | 97,040 | 96,500 |
| May 2020 | 46,160 | 48,510 |
| May 2021 | 102,980 | 115,070 |
| May 2022 [provisional estimates] | 100,870 | 109,210 |
Figure 4: Financial year to date (April to May) comparison of UK residential transactions between the 2013 to 2014 and 2022 to 2023 financial years, in thousand transactions.
| Financial Year | Non-seasonally adjusted | Seasonally adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 to 2014 | 163,450 | 170,120 |
| 2014 to 2015 | 197,450 | 207,730 |
| 2015 to 2016 | 184,770 | 198,190 |
| 2016 to 2017 | 156,560 | 169,290 |
| 2017 to 2018 | 184,460 | 204,910 |
| 2018 to 2019 | 179,780 | 199,760 |
| 2019 to 2020 | 184,900 | 194,280 |
| 2020 to 2021 | 83,510 | 90,810 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 216,780 | 236,270 |
| 2022 to 2023 [provisional estimates] | 200,110 | 216,990 |
Figure 5: Historic non-seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted UK residential property transactions by month between 2005 and 2022, in thousand transactions.
Figure 5 demonstrates the following trends for UK residential transactions:
- the coronavirus pandemic caused substantial decreases for UK residential transactions during 2020 quarter 2, followed by increasing transactions as the UK housing market re-opened, including significant peaks in March, June and September 2021 due to temporarily increased nil rate bands for residential property taxes within different UK nations
- between May 2013 and March 2020, UK residential transactions followed a seasonal but generally stable trend
- there was a very large peak in March 2016 caused by significantly increased residential transaction completions before the introduction of higher rates for additional properties from April 2016
- there was an unseasonal peak in December 2009 caused by the ending of a temporarily increased nil rate band for residential transactions
- the fall in transactions from late 2007 coincided with the financial crisis, before which transactions had increased steadily before peaking in mid 2006
UK non-residential transactions
Non-residential property includes, but is not limited to:
- commercial property
- agricultural land
- forests
- any other land or property which is not residential
- 6 or more residential properties bought in a single transaction
- mixed use transactions
The following section provides detailed analysis of UK non-residential transactions. To demonstrate any underlying trends within the data, seasonally adjusted transactions estimates are also provided alongside non-seasonally adjusted transactions estimates.
Figure 6: Year on year comparisons of non-seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted UK non-residential transactions in May between 2013 and 2022, in thousand transactions.
| Month and year | Non-seasonally adjusted | Seasonally adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| May 2013 | 8,530 | 8,590 |
| May 2014 | 8,780 | 9,250 |
| May 2015 | 8,970 | 9,740 |
| May 2016 | 9,550 | 10,330 |
| May 2017 | 10,210 | 10,590 |
| May 2018 | 10,060 | 10,450 |
| May 2019 | 10,000 | 10,110 |
| May 2020 | 5,310 | 5,750 |
| May 2021 | 9,340 | 10,470 |
| May 2022 [provisional estimates] | 10,250 | 10,950 |
Figure 7: Financial year to date (April to May) comparison of UK non-residential transactions between the 2013 to 2014 and 2022 to 2023 financial years, in thousand transactions.
| Financial Year | Non-seasonally adjusted | Seasonally adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 to 2014 | 16,900 | 17,110 |
| 2014 to 2015 | 18,040 | 18,510 |
| 2015 to 2016 | 18,530 | 19,410 |
| 2016 to 2017 | 20,080 | 21,020 |
| 2017 to 2018 | 20,020 | 21,230 |
| 2018 to 2019 | 20,220 | 21,160 |
| 2019 to 2020 | 20,380 | 20,510 |
| 2020 to 2021 | 10,750 | 11,230 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 20,180 | 21,110 |
| 2022 to 2023 [provisional estimates] | 20,460 | 21,270 |
Figure 8: Historic non-seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted UK non-residential property transactions by month between 2005 and 2022, in thousand transactions.
Figure 8 demonstrates the following trends for UK non-residential transactions:
- quarter 2 of the 2020 calendar year was the lowest quarterly total for UK non-residential transactions since the introduction of Stamp Duty statistics in their current format from 2005, caused by impacts from the coronavirus pandemic
- after following a generally increasing trend from late 2013 to early 2016, UK non-residential transactions had then flattened until the significant decreases during 2020 calendar year quarter 2
- the UK non-residential transactions seasonal pattern generally features a low point at the start of the year with a corresponding peak each March as the financial year ends
- as with UK residential transactions, the 2007 financial crisis triggered a fall in UK non-residential transactions
Contacts
The ‘Monthly property transactions completed in the UK with value with value of £40,000’ or above’ statistical release is produced by the Indirect Tax Receipts Monitoring team as part of the ‘Property transactions in the UK’ collection.
Contact revenuemonitoring@hmrc.gov.uk for statistical enquiries.
Contact HMRC press office for media enquiries.