House sales jumped by nearly a fifth in December, compared with the same month a year earlier, new figures show, as estate agents reported signs of home buyers in some locations rushing to beat a stamp duty deadline.
Across the UK, 96,330 sales took place in December 2024, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimated, which was 19% higher than in December 2023 and 3% higher than in November 2024.
Stamp duty costs are set to become more expensive for some home buyers after March.
From April 1, the “nil rate” stamp duty band for first-time buyers will shrink from £425,000 to £300,000. Stamp duty applies in England and Northern Ireland.
Nick Leeming, chairman of estate agent Jackson-Stops, said: “The rise in transactions in December can largely be attributed to the pending stamp duty deadline in March.
“No doubt buyers across London and the South East in particular would have been pushing for deals to get across the line given the traditionally higher tax rates in this part of the country.
“This is evidenced across the Jackson-Stops network with the number of new applicants far outweighing new instructions in December in Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket, Dorking, Northampton, Reigate and Sevenoaks.
“House prices are also holding steady, and growing in some local markets which has put the market on firm footing despite the UK’s economic outlook painting a mixed picture.
“Positively for borrowing buyers, widespread predictions are anticipating a number of cuts to the (Bank of England) base rate this year.”
The HMRC figures were released on the same day that Nationwide Building Society reported that the annual rate of house price growth slowed to 4.1% in January, from 4.7% in December.
Across the UK, house prices increased by 0.1% month-on-month, reaching £268,213.
Jason Tebb, president of OnTheMarket, said: “Two rate reductions in the second half of last year bolstered buyer and seller confidence, and with further cuts expected this year, there is cautious optimism which bodes well for the spring market.”
He added: “With stamp duty changes providing an extra motivation for first-time buyers in particular to transact over the next few months, a further rate cut from the Bank of England would be timely and give further impetus to the spring market.”
