HMRC’s property transaction data for November 2024

Andrew Lloyd , Managing Director at Search Acumen, says:

Transactions continued at pace in November in both residential and commercial property markets as buyers rushed to close deals ahead of spring’s upcoming stamp duty adjustment, although not at the speed we saw in October. This combined late surge in activity at the end of the year also opens the possibility for a strong start to 2025, if transaction processing can keep pace with the increased demand and not be hindered by avoidable delays or backlogs.

It’s especially pleasing to see that this end of year momentum proved resilient to the immediate effects of a controversial Autumn Budget and sticky, property-constraining interest rates that refuse to drop at the rate buyers would have hoped. In commercial real estate, the success stories at the tail end of 2024 were the retail and leisure sectors, but as the office market has still not fully recovered we saw an overall dip in figures. It is evident that the last thing the property industry needs in this macroeconomic climate are further hurdles blocking deal flows.

To unlock the full potential of this recent bump in buyer activity, archaic elements of the transaction process must be modernised to better serve those that rely on it, leveraging technology and automation so that we can be far more resilient during pinch points such as these.