House price data - Land Registry

"While momentum and activity rattled through into July following a frantic June, from August the property market has packed its bags and gone on a much needed holiday. The August slowdown gives some comfort that another 'cliff edge' will be avoided when stage 2 of the stamp duty holiday ends in September. This is an early yet encouraging sign that Rishi Sunak's two-stage approach to phasing out the stamp duty holiday will prove effective."

"Just as King Canute couldn't stop the tide, the end of the stamp duty holiday has forced the inevitable to happen. Property prices have started to fall from June onwards. "Bigger homes are becoming less desirable, which has also helped take some of the heat out of the market, although demand has not waned for first-time buyers keen to snap up a flat or starter home. "There's often a summer slow-down, so the jury's out on whether this pattern will continue into the coming months, or whether this is the start of a decline."

"The housing market reached unprecedented levels during the summer months, as people felt almost obliged to consider moving to take advantage of the favourable stamp duty rates. "The market shows few early signs of slowing, however this is simply due to a lack of supply. If homeowners can be encouraged to sell or move again, the market could become even more buoyant than the record breaking levels we have seen this year as demand continues to remain as high as ever."

"As expected, the property market has slowed down, and this is due to the Stamp Duty Relief being phased out. However, we have seen an increase in enquiries from High Net Worth clients based abroad. They are now finding it easier to travel and have less concerns about Covid, and are increasingly visiting London to view properties."

"Following the introduction of the Stamp Duty holiday, house prices in much of the year to June rose, rose again and then rose some more. As for later this year and early next, the expectation is that while we wont necessarily see prices fall, a period of negligible house price growth is most likely."