Despite uncertainty with Brexit, the latest property statistics provide a relatively stable picture of the UK property market.

The latest report of UK Property Transaction Statistics was released by HMRC in October and covers a period ending September 2019. According to that report: although fluctuating, residential transactions have been relatively stable over the previous ten years (ending September 2019). This is welcome news given the uncertainties that the UK has faced during that time.

The same report reveals that the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK property transactions for September 2019 is 2.3% higher when compared with September 2018, and 5.0% higher than August 2019, (at 101,740 residential and 10,500 non-residential transactions).

Meanwhile, the latest in another set of national statistics, namely the UK House Price Index (UK HPI), was released on 13th November. This data also covered a period ending September 2019. The headline statistic from this report was that in that month, the average price of a property in the UK was £234,370 and this represented an annual price change of 1.3%. While this may not give cause for sky punching, it is modest growth and that’s welcome news. It perhaps indicates more buoyancy than was predicted by some and this is heartening, particularly given the unsettled political conditions. It is worth noting that in the year to September 2019, house prices in the East of England fell ever so slightly (by 0.2%).

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) also released its latest UK Residential Market Survey in October. One of its key findings is that prices are still expected to rise at a national level over the coming 12 months.

Overall, at Sheridans we remain cautiously optimistic. We will continue to review future releases of property statistics with great interest… In the meantime, we want to take the opportunity to wish you all an extremely happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.