Residential transactions rebound in May after 'inevitable slump' caused by Stamp Duty
RESIDENTIAL transactions have rebounded in May after the “inevitable slump” in activity during April caused by the Stamp Duty deadline, new data shows.
HMRC has published new figures showing the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of UK residential transactions in May 2025 is 81,470, 12% lower than May 2024 and 25% higher than April 2025.
The provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of UK non-residential transactions in May 2025 is 9,760, 5% lower than May 2024 and 4% higher than April 2025.
The report says: “Figures for seasonally adjusted residential transactions in May 2025 have increased by 25% compared with 65,110 in April 2025 to 81,470. These numbers have been affected by the changes in Stamp Duty Land Tax Rates in England and Northern Ireland in April 2025.
"On 1 April 2025, the nil-rate threshold, which had been £250,000, returned to the previous level of £125,000. The nil-rate threshold for first-time buyers also decreased on 1 April 2025, from £425,000 to £300,000.
"The increase in transactions for May follows decreased transactions for April, which were likely brought forward into March to take advantage of the higher thresholds.”
Newspage spoke to financial experts who said the rebound was due to the Stamp Duty deadline - but they were undecided as to how positive the figures are.
Andrew Montlake, CEO at Coreco, said the data showed the market was back to “normal service” and a summer of activity was coming.
He added: "May saw a rebound after the inevitable slump in activity during April caused by the Stamp Duty deadline. Normal service has started to resume and, in our experience, the market remains pretty active given many of the headwinds facing the economy.
"We're still confident that it will be a positive summer of activity and this week we have seen some major lenders, such as Barclays, cut rates. The market needs an injection of confidence and that could come with a base rate cut at the next Monetary Policy Committee meeting."
Though Chris Barry, Director at Thomas Legal, cautioned against getting too excited about the figures.
He continued: “The jump in May completions was not as big as we wanted to see and part of this is due to a prolonged pipeline. Lots of transactions were rushed through to meet the March deadline which brought down lockup time but the process is now back to normal timescales following the rush.
"Green shoots are appearing though as new business is improving week on week and this will filter through into strong completion numbers in 4 months time.”
Daniel Hobbs, CEO at New Leaf Distribution, said “summer could be quieter” than expected for the property industry.
He added: "Transaction levels in May picked up after the Stamp Duty cliff edge saw them fall sharply in April but they're still down compared to the same month last year.
"There's a lot of uncertainty out there at the moment, with unemployment rising, the economy contracting and the high street under pressure. Given the number of red flags surrounding the economy, the summer could be quieter than many in the property industry would have hoped."
Tony Redondo, Founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange, added: "Buyers and investors are navigating a complex landscape, balancing tax changes, interest rate expectations and economic headwinds. Consequently, the clear pattern in HMRC’s May 2025 UK property data shows residential transactions down 12% from May 2024 but up 25% from April 2025.
"April’s SDLT threshold change drove the surge in March transactions and the slump in April. May’s rebound shows resilience, but year-on-year declines signal affordability issues and caution. Commercial activity is stable but down yearly, reflecting investor hesitancy."
