The sale of agreed goods in the UK jumps ahead of the increase in stamp duty

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UK property sales rose for a third straight year in the year to the end of 2024 as buyers rushed to avoid a rise in stamp duty from next April, according to data from Zoopla.

Research by the property portal reported on Monday that there were 283,000 sales agreed but not completed as of December 14, the largest pipeline of sales in four years and counting. by 30 percent by the end of 2023.

Consumer inquiries rose 21 percent in December compared to the same period last year. The company says these two trends are due to the upcoming increase in stamp duty, which chancellor Rachel Reeves told him. Budget for October.

Richard Donnell, chief executive at Zoopla, said: “There is a large pipeline of sales to be completed in the first half of 2025, with many hoping to avoid higher stamp duty costs from Next April.”

He added: “Buyers and sellers are back in the housing market in 2024 slow to move in the face of higher mortgage rates.”

Reeves confirmed in the Budget that the temporary holiday for stamp duty will end in March. As a result, first-time buyers, for example, from April 2025 will start paying tax on properties worth £300,000 or more, instead of £425,000 currently.

Anticipation of changes to the stamp duty system helped lift house approvals to the highest level since August 2022 in October, according to separate data published by the Bank of England.

Matt Thompson, head of sales at Chestertons, said the estate agency was “seeing one of its busiest Decembers for years in terms of consumer demand”.

“This is driven mainly by first-time buyers keen to get on the property ladder ahead of next year’s stamp duty changes, but also second-time buyers including smaller families, looking to upscale,” he added.

UK house prices rose 3.7 percent year-on-year in Novemberthe fastest annual growth since November 2022, according to separate data released by the State earlier in December.

Zoopla reported a further increase in annual house price growth in December, compared to the previous month. But it also noted that consumers became more concerned about prices after the Autumn Budget and amid growing uncertainty about the outlook for mortgage rates.

Buyers paid an average of 3.6 percent less than the asking price for a property in December, Zoopla data showed, up from 3.2 percent in the summer.

Mortgage rates have risen since November on concerns about a sharp fall in inflation, raising financial market expectations that the Bank of England will be cautious about cutting interest rates this year. what is coming.

A central bank it held its benchmark rate by 4.75 percent last week, after doubling since the summer. After the latest election, BoE governor Andrew Bailey said “uncertainty in the economy” meant policymakers could not “commit to when we will cut rates next year”.

Zoopla expects UK house prices to rise by 2.5 per cent by 2025. Thompson predicts growth of 3.4 per cent, citing “improved prices, pent-up demand and renewed confidence in the market it should provide support for sustainable growth in property values”.