HMRC figures reveal January boom for property transactions

The number of house sales rose 5.2% in a year, with 102,810 transactions completed in January – a 4.1% jump between December and January, according to the latest figures from HMRC. The data also show an increase in transactions of non-residential properties, with some 11,170 commercial properties sold in January, 10.7% higher than in January last year – the highest volume of commercial property sales and the biggest monthly rise in almost 12 years.HMRC pointed out that January's figures reflect sales agreed in September and October, and Jeremy Leaf, a former RICS residential chairman said “if the [numbers] are like this now, they are set to be even stronger as we approach the peak spring-buying season.”

Daily Mail (21/02/2020)