UK property transactions hit record low in April

UK residential property transactions in April hit their lowest monthly level since comparable records began in 2005, new figures showed on Thursday.

There were 38,060 transactions in April, according to provisional numbers from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

This was less than half the level seen in the same month last year, the BBC reported.

Spring is usually a busy period for the property market, but the coronavirus lockdown halted the activity.

The government lifted many of these restrictions on the sector in England in mid-May.

The total number of UK property transactions are slightly less than the previous low when the property market was at the height of the financial crisis in January 2009.

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Andrew Southern, chairman of property developer Southern Grove, said:

“The sheer scale of the collapse is staggering but what has to be remembered is that demand for residential property sales cannot be compared with demand for other items in consumers’ regular basket of goods.

“Residential transactions are usually motivated by necessity so, subject to the economic realities that prevail as the country starts to emerge from this crisis, many of these missing sales should rise from the deep.”

Buyers deserted the housing market for obvious reasons just before and after the introduction of virus restrictions.

Moreover, the government urged buyers and sellers to come to an amicable arrangement, to avoid people moving during the lockdown.

In England, moves are now back on. Estate agents can now open. They can carry out viewings and removal firms and conveyancers can restart operations.

However, restrictions remain in other parts of the UK.

Estate agents, surveyors and others are desperate for any lifting of restrictions. They believe the property sector is key to the UK economy as a whole.

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