Deals spike as end-of-lockdown roadmap emerges

Property purchases spiked in February, as provisional government data revealed a sizeable uplift on comparable volumes from one year ago. More than 122,000 residential deals got over the line, up 48% from February 2020; while non-residential purchase volumes are estimated at 9,230 – an increase of 10% on last year. Seasonally-adjusted data for residential purchases reveals the extent to which the original stamp duty holiday deadline propelled February activity. Since the global financial crisis, only March 2016 has seen higher seasonally-adjusted completion volumes – also largely as a result of expedited purchasing patterns to beat stamp duty alterations. Meanwhile, non-residential purchase volumes continue to recover from the depths of last year, as seasonally-adjusted numbers put February’s transactional completions much more in-line with long-term data. Looking at a broader picture – these figures allow us to quantify more precisely the impact of coronavirus on UK real estate. Transactional volumes for non-residential properties are down 19.4% on the preceding 12 month period, and down by 21.5% against the five-year average. Elsewhere, the imposition of the first lockdown suppressed residential transactional volumes to such an extent that even the fillip of recent months has not been enough to see completions reach the levels of previous years. Completed purchases from March 2020 to February 2021 are down by 7.2% on the preceding 12 months, and down by 9.5% against the longer term average. To send feedback, e-mail graham.shone@egi.co.uk or tweet @GShoneEG or @estatesgazette Photo: Photofusion/Shutterstock