Stamp duty transactions lifted by 10% in the third quarter of the year compared to the previous three months, according to HM Revenue & Customs, while receipts rose by 11%.
The rise in transactions in the quarter follows consecutive falls in the previous three quarters, but is 8% lower than in the third quarter of 2021.
The body says: “The previous three quarters themselves had followed four quarters of continued growth, which were impacted by the introduction of the stamp duty land tax holiday for residential properties and an ongoing strength in the housing market.”
It adds that stamp duty receipts in the third quarter were 11% higher than the previous three months. Total stamp duty receipts in the third quarter were 29% higher than the same period a year ago.
The government department says: “The rise in transactions in this quarter follows consecutive falls in the previous three quarters.
“The previous three quarters themselves had followed four quarters of continued growth, which were impacted by the introduction of the stamp duty land tax holiday for residential properties and an ongoing strength in the housing market.”
The data does not cover moves by the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last month, which saw him reverse the vast majority of tax cuts announced in September’s mini-budget, although the stamp duty cut for house purchases remains.
The mini-budget led to more than a thousand products being pulled as lenders worked out how to reprice loans as the cost of debt for the government and companies lifted on international money markets, following former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax-cutting fiscal event.
R3 Mortgages director Riz Malik says: “This data just goes to show that before the 44 days from hell the property market was buoyant and the government was a major beneficiary. With lower transactions likely in Q4 2022 and going into 2023, the government should not rely on stamp duty revenue to fill the fiscal black hole.”
Bolton Business Finance managing director Marcus Wright adds: “The latest quarterly stamp duty data shows the property market has been holding up well so far in 2022.
“But the impact of the mini-budget and rapidly rising mortgage rates is not yet showing in these figures and that will doubtless impact the next set of data.
“It’s almost inevitable that rising mortgage rates will start to erode transaction levels and receipts in the fourth quarter and into 2023.
“We are already seeing investors and businesses put off making property purchases by higher interest rates. In some cases, rates are double what they were 12 months ago and that will feed into property transactions soon enough.”
