Home transactions up in November as eyes turn to Omicron’s impact on market
Transaction numbers gained pace in November, up 24.3 per cent on the previous month, following an initial dip after the end of the stamp duty holiday.
According to the latest HMRC data, there were 96,290 housing transactions in November, 16.4 per cent lower than November 2020, but up on the prior month.
The figure for last month was also only 3.4 per cent lower than the pre-pandemic average of 99,642.
There were 10,840 non-residential transactions in November, 15.9 per cent higher than November 2020 and nine per cent higher than October 2021.
Real estate experts said there was still pent-up demand to transact and buy property, even despite gloomy headlines about the Omicron Covid variant.
Gareth Lewis, commercial director of property lender MT Finance, said: ‘Naturally, the housing market took a breath in October, taking stock after the end of the stamp duty holiday with transaction numbers down, as you would expect. But November saw a return to positivity and an uptick in transactional flow.”
However, it remains to be seen whether the Omicron variant will squeeze the market, Lewis added.
“Another lockdown may reduce buyer confidence, although so far it’s been remarkably resilient.”
Anthony Codling, CEO of property platform Twindig, said that while he would caution against “reading too much” into one month’s provisional data, the market appeared to be in “good health”.
He added: “The bounce-back implies there is more to the underlying level of housing transactions than the impact of stamp duty holidays alone. The pandemic is having a significant impact on where and how we choose to live and where and how we choose to work (wine and cheese anyone?), and it seems that the race for space is not over just yet.”