The Office for National Statistics has collated several different housing indicators to reveal the scale of the pandemic’s impact on the property market.
Data show that the number of residential property sales fell by more than 60 per cent across all English regions between January and March, but the ONS says that the time lag in the reporting of transactions means the figures for recent months are likely to be revised upwards.
Other data sets pointed to April as the month in which the housing market saw the greatest impact from lockdown.
There was a large decrease of nearly 80 per cent in the number of Energy Performance Certificates being registered in April 2020 followed by rises in May and June across England and Wales.
EPCs for existing properties fell from around 112,000 in March to 24,000 in April and for new properties from 23,000 to 5,500.
This was followed by an increase in EPC lodged in May 2020 to nearly 50,000 for existing dwellings and 8,000 for new dwellings, but these were still much lower than for March 2020.
Figures for June returned to levels similar to those seen in January to March 2020.
The fall in the number of EPCs generated and lodged during April and May follows government guidance on March 26 to delay property moves and avoid viewings or inspections as an EPC requires an energy assessor to physically visit a property.
Stamp duty records show that residential property sales in England for April and May 2020, were around half that shown for the same months in 2019.
The number of property transactions currently recorded by HM Land Registry for February and March 2020 is lower than in 2019 in both England and Wales, but this is likely because of delays in recording.
The number of mortgage approvals for house purchase in the UK fell sharply in April 2020 and continued to fall in May.
Hargreaves Lansdown personal finance analyst Sarah Coles says: “A couple of hopeful signals from the housing market in May should be taken with an enormous handful of salt: things still look pretty bleak for sellers.
“Stamp duty receipts rose in May, but this could easily be a rush to complete among people who were on the verge of it when the crisis hit. Meanwhile, the number of Energy Performance Certificates bounced back by June, but may be a reflection of people wanting to sell rather than successful sales.
“Mortgage data for house purchases, meanwhile, shows sharp falls in April and May – to a new low.
“With plenty of people keen to sell, and a sluggish mortgage market, it doesn’t look like houses are getting snapped up at a premium.
“When viewed against the backdrop of the wave of recent job losses and growing uncertainty as the furlough scheme is withdrawn, it’s clear the market could be slow for some months to come.
“And while this doesn’t necessarily mean house prices are on their way down, they’re unlikely to be gaining enormously either.”
