The provisional seasonally adjusted count of residential property transactions in October 2019 increased by 4.3% from the previous month, which was also 4.3% higher than in October 2018, according to HMRC’s latest UK Property Transaction Statistics.

On non-residential property transactions in October, the figure was 4.8% higher than the same month a year earlier, and 13.6% up from September.

The latest data equated to 103,680 residential and 10,960 non-residential transactions as the provisional seasonally adjusted estimates of UK property transactions for October 2019.

Furthermore, HMRC revealed that year-on-year, the non-seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in October was approximately 4.2% higher than October 2018.

Commenting on HMRC’s latest statistics, chairman of property developer Southern Grove, Andrew Southern, said: “It would be a brave commentator to talk about green shoots of recovery when it comes to property transactions, but the market is moving in the right direction.

“The promised land of a full bloom for residential sales is still some way off and it’s likely to remain that way until the end of the political impasse with Europe injects some confidence into households.

“Brexit hovers like a dark cloud over the market, but there will come a point when buyers’ determination to move will outweigh any lingering concerns about how politics and economics will impact property prices and financial security as the country's final destination comes more into focus.

“The suspicion remains that a groundswell of activity is poised take shape once the dam of uncertainty breaks.”

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