House sales down by a fifth in December

House sales were down by a fifth in December 2021 when compared with a year earlier, figures have revealed, but increased on the previous month. An estimated 100,110 transactions took place across the UK in December 2021, marking a 20.0% decrease compared with 125,190 house sales in the same month in 2020. The December 2021 total was however 7.6% higher than in November 2021, according to the figures released by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Andrew Montlake, managing director of mortgage broker Coreco, commented: “Transactions in December 2020 were given a phenomenal boost by the stamp duty holiday, so it’s no surprise that transactions last month were down in comparison".

The Independent (22/01/2022)