Housing market revival

Home sales jump by a quarter month-on-month in May following April slump

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The number of home sales picked up by a quarter month-on-month in May following a plunge in April as a stamp duty holiday ended (according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures.

Across the UK (around 81,470 home sales were recorded provisionally in May (which was 25% higher than April but a 12% fall compared with May 2024.

Stamp duty discounts became less generous for some homebuyers from April (with people rushing to complete deals before the deadline. Stamp duty applies in England and Northern Ireland.

HMRC's report said: “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.”

Tom Bill (head of UK residential research at Knight Frank (said: “Housing transactions are still clambering back to normal levels after the stamp duty cliff-edge earlier this year.”