Real estate sales in Britain began to record a rapid decline after they had jumped during the past period, ignoring the difficult economic conditions caused by the spread of the Corona epidemic globally, which led to general and comprehensive closures in Britain during the past year and this year.
The reason for the start of the downward trend in sales is the end of the period of exemption from registration fees, which was enjoyed by the market and caused a recovery and a rise in demand during the last period, according to those working in the real estate market.
According to a report published by the Daily Telegraph, government authorities recorded 82,110 residential transactions last month, down more than 61% from June's sales of 213,120 sales transactions, which amounted to 213,120 sales transactions.
Sales had surged last June as buyers rushed to close deals in time to save taxes.
The figure was only 1.8% higher than in July 2020 when the housing market reopened after the first lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
HMRC attributed the massive month-on-month drop to the end of the registration fee exemption period at the end of June.
The drop in sales was steeper than that recorded in April this year, when transactions fell by almost 36% after a rush to complete them ahead of the previous registration fee deadline of March.
Lawrence Bowles, of Savills Real Estate, said: “Given that a buyer who completed on July 1 would have paid up to £12,500 in additional registration fees compared to registration fees completed just one day earlier, it's no wonder we saw so many purchases brought forward.”
Savills predicted that 2021 will be a “bumper year” for property transactions, with more than 1.6 million homes expected to be sold by the end of December.
Bowles added: “Analytics suggest that the swing in transactions is a product of the tax regime change, not a fundamental shift in demand. However, the latest buyer sentiment survey reveals that there is still unmet demand from potential buyers for larger homes and more outdoor space, which will continue to support transactions in the near term.”
The rush by buyers to finalize purchases before the registration fee exemption expires led house prices to rise by 13.2% in the year to June 2021, the fastest rate of growth since November 2004.
Anthony Codling, of real estate website Twindig, said the latest transaction figures represent the first of “the first two slopes of the exemption period,” with another expected when the tax exemption fully expires next September.He added: “July's cliff edge may indicate that wealthier homebuyers are a fleet of feet, suggesting that this has been a holiday for the cash-rich and those at the top of the housing ladder rather than those aspiring to get a foot on the ladder.”
The Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying.
