House sales fell by 3% month-on-month in December

HMRC figures reveals that UK house sales fell by 3% month-on-month in December. Analysis shows an estimated 101,920 homes were sold in December 2022, which was 1% higher than in December 2021 but 3% lower than in November 2022. During the same period year earlier, 1,049,450 house sales had taken place. The HMRC’s report said house sales had generally been stable in recent months but were slightly weaker in December. It added: “The impact of higher mortgages rates is only beginning to appear now because transactions data is based upon date of completion, and it typically takes between two to four months for a house sale to complete. Many buyers are still looking to proceed with their purchase in order to take advantage of pre-agreed mortgages with lower rates. The levels of current monthly property transactions are higher than late 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.” 

Daily Mail (24/01/2023)   The Independent (24/01/2023)