'Mad rush' to buy homes faded in April

The "mad rush" to buy properties to take advantage of stamp duty holidays waned in April, official figures suggest. Transactions fell by 36% compared with the record level of UK home sales in March, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). According to property market experts, this was because the Government's stamp duty holiday was initially set to end on March 31st. A total of 111,260 properties were sold in the UK in April, down from 173,410 the previous month, the HMRC figures show. This remains nearly 200% higher than the same month a year ago, when the housing market was effectively closed in the first national COVID lockdown. However, analysts expect interest and prices to remain high. Andrew Southern, Chairman of property developer Southern Grove, said: “A spike in activity ahead of the original stamp duty deadline disguises what is still a strong performance as the housing market continues to benefit from a moving frenzy".

BBC News (21/05/2022) Daily Express (21/05/2022) Daily Mail (21/05/2022)