The number of housing transactions in the UK declined for the second year in a row in 2023, falling below the 2020 level. Amid worsening homebuyer sentiment, house purchases declined from approximately 1.5 million transactions with a value of 40,000 British pounds and above in 2021, to one million in 2023. For residential transactions, England constituted the majority of purchases.

Number of new residential property sales in England and Wales, by property type and administrative geographies. Quarterly rolling annual data. Formerly HPSSA dataset 7.

According to the figures, as of November 2021, it can be seen that the number of housing transactions in the United Kingdom was forecast to fluctuate in the next five years and reach 1.2 million in 2026. House prices are expected to continue their year-on-year increase in this period.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of house sales in the UK spiked, followed by a period of decline. In 2023, the housing market slowed notably, and in September 2024, transaction volumes fell below 50,000. House sales volumes are affected by a number of factors, including mortgage rates, house prices, supply, demand, as well as the overall health of the market. The economic uncertainty and rising unemployment rates has also affected the homebuyer sentiment of Brits. How have UK house prices developed over the past 10 years? House prices in the UK have increased year-on-year since 2015, except for a brief period of decline in the second half of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. That is based on the 12-month percentage change of the UK house price index. At the peak of the housing boom in 2022, prices soared by nearly 14 percent. The decline that followed was mild, at under three percent. The cooling in the market was more pronounced in England and Wales, where the average house price declined in 2023. Conversely, growth in Scotland and Northern Ireland continued. What is the impact of mortgage rates on house sales? For a long period, mortgage rates were at record-low, allowing prospective homebuyers to take out a 10-year loan at a mortgage rate of less than three percent. In the last quarter of 2021, this period came to an end as the Bank of England rose the bank lending rate to contain the spike in inflation. Naturally, the higher borrowing costs affected consumer sentiment, urging many homebuyers to place their plans on hold and leading to a drop in sales.

Annual estimates of the number of residential and non-residential property transactions in the UK, by type of property, buyer, price range and geographical location. Previously listed under 'Revenue-based Taxes and Benefits: Property Transactions'.

Source agency: HM Revenue and Customs

Designation: National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: Annual UK Property Transaction Statistics

Monthly estimates of the number of residential and non-residential property transactions in the UK and its constituent countries, with value £40,000 or above. Previously listed under 'Revenue-based Taxes and Benefits: Property Transactions'.

Source agency: HM Revenue and Customs

Designation: National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: UK Property Transaction Statistics

England accounts for the majority of sales in the residential real estate market in the United Kingdom. In September 2024, the total number of housing transactions in the country amounted to nearly 92,000, with approximately 80,000 of these property sales being completed in England. Historically, sales activity has observed notable fluctuations because of the seasonal nature of the market, but also other trends in the market, such as the slump in April 2020 related to the COVID-19 pandemic A declining number of home sales The annual number of home sales in the UK has declined since 2021, with 2023 exhibiting the lowest transaction volume since 2012. The main reason for that trend is the increase in the cost of housing. House prices grew year-on-year between 2012 and 2022, with growth accelerating toward the end of the period due to the record-low mortgage rates. As the cost of living crisis hit in 2022, the Bank of England hiked interest rates, resulting in dramatically higher home finance costs. With house prices at their peak and a double increase in borrowing costs, many prospective homebuyers could not afford to buy and placed their plans on hold. How will prices develop in the next five years? After a slight decline in 2024, house prices in the UK are expected to pick up in the next year and continue on an upward trend until 2028. On average, house prices are projected to grow by 2.7 percent per year.

The number of non-residential property purchase transactions in the UK fell to a record low in April 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In the second half of 2020, transaction activity recovered and in September 2024, the number of seasonally adjusted transactions amounted to 10,250.

The housing market in England cooled in 2022 and 2023, after a record year in 2021. In 2023, the number of housing transactions reached approximately 858,000, which was the lowest figure since 2012 when the market was still recovering from the global financial crisis. Some of the main factors that have led to the decline in home buying are the cost of living crisis, higher mortgage rates, low inventory, and the rapid increase in house prices across the UK.

Number of freehold and leasehold residential property sales in England and Wales, by new and existing, by property type and local authorities. Annual data.

Land Registry Price Paid Data (PPD) have been published as open data since 2013. These data have been transformative for house price variation research in the UK as they are a comprehensive record of residential transactions at address level and cover the whole of England and Wales over a period dating back to 1995. Despite the utility of these data, a lack of attribute information relating to the properties, such as total floor area information, is identified as one of the major shortcomings of the PPD data. This means that the impacts of stock mix on broader price patterns cannot be fully accounted for. This research outlines one approach which addresses this deficiency by combining transaction information from the official open Land Registry Price Paid Data (PPD) with property size information form the official open Domestic Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). A four-stage data linkage is created to generate a new linked dataset, representing 79% of the full market sales in the Land Registry PPD. This new linked dataset details 5,732,838 transactions in England and Wales between 2011 and 2019, along with each property's total floor area and the number of habitable rooms. Codes for other commonly used spatial units from Output Area to Local Authority are also included in the dataset. This offers greater flexibility for the exploration of house price variation in England and Wales at different spatial scales. The data collection includes the scripts used for linkage, as well as the resulting dataset.

Current residential house price variation research in the UK is limited by lack of an open and comprehensive house price database that contains both transaction price alongside dwelling attributes such as size. This research outlines one approach which addresses this deficiency in England and Wales through combining transaction information from the official open Land Registry Price Paid Data (PPD) and property size information form the official open Domestic Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). A four-stage data linkage is created to generate a new linked data, representing 79% of the full market sales in Land Registry PPD. This new linked dataset offers greater flexibility for the exploration of house price (house price per square metre) variation in England and Wales at different spatial scales over postcode unit between 2011 and 2019.

Number of residential property sales in England and Wales, by property type and subnational geographies. Annual data.

Number of properties sold from Land Registry data.

Excluded from the above figures are sales at less than market price (e.g. Right To Buy), sales below £1,000 and sales above £20m.

Relevant link: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-analysis/house-price-statistics-for-small-areas/index.html

The number of commercial real estate transactions in the UK increased in 2021, after plummeting in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2023, there was a slight decrease, with 119,450 non-residential property sales over 40,000 British pounds completed, down from 124,270 in 2021. In the UK, England is responsible for the majority of completed non-residential property transactions.

In 2023, the number of agreed sales of residential properties in the UK declined, while that of transactions that fell through or saw the price change rose. In 2021, the number of agreed sales equaled close to 1.5 million, whereas in 2023, it stood at 1.1 million. Conversely, the number of new instructions rose slightly.