UK HOUSE SALES BECOME A REAL ‘HORROR STORY’

The number of homes sold in September fell by nearly 40% as transaction levels returned to normal following the big spike caused by the COVID-19 stamp duty holiday, with experts suggesting the real “house sales horror story” is still to come.

Across the UK, 103,930 transactions were recorded in September, which was 37% lower than the same month in 2021, but roughly the same amount as in August, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures show.

The report said the number of completed deals has been stable in recent months, with the overall number still higher than before the pandemic. However, the housing market was thrown into disarray by the disastrous mini-budget on 23 September, which caused a rise in the long-term borrowing costs that underpin mortgage deals.

Home loans were already getting dearer after this year’s run of Bank of England base rate increases.??