It has been a peculiar, confusing, frustrating few months for anybody working in the housing market. 



Things have been up in the air somewhat, and anybody planning to sell, buy or dive into the housing market in 2020 will have inevitably faced a fair few hurdles. That’s understating it somewhat – the hurdles faced in 2020 as we all know have been completely unprecedented!

But while it would be very premature to say things are back to normal, there are some positive signs indicating that within the property market at least, the green shoots of recovery are starting to show.

Property statistics looking positive

Figures from HMRC for September showed that there was a 21.3% increase in the number of property sales recorded during the month.

Just over 98,000 property transactions were completed in September 2020. This represents a very small increase on the number of transactions completed in the same month last year.

This figure is also fairly close to the kind of monthly averages that were seen before the Coronavirus pandemic began.

HMRC calculates the number of property transactions based on those deals for which stamp duty or equivalent land taxes were paid. Transactions below £40,000 do not have this, but let’s be honest – getting a house for less than 40 grand these days is a pretty tough ask. 

What does this mean?

It means that the market is definitely moving in the right direction. People’s property-buying plans, which may have been disrupted or delayed this year, are in many cases starting to regather momentum it seems, with the September statistics indicative of this. 

Though there is of course no room for complacency when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic, the September 2020 stats likely show a willingness on the part of buyers and sellers to get ‘back to normal’ and get deals through the proverbial door.

While it would be naive to think that we are out of the woods, it is great to see the market picking back up and a growing sense of confidence starting to reemerge after a distinctly tricky period.

Is now the time to get your plans back on track?

If you have been looking to sell or buy, but have shelved your plans until the situation calms down somewhat, there are indications that normality is starting to return. 

That’s great for the wider mortgage market, but could also mean that the chain of sales you may have needed to get your dream property sorted could kick back into life sooner rather than later. This is as applicable to freelancer mortgages and contractor mortgages as it is to residential mortgages.

However, given the tricky situation that the market has been in, there’s definitely no harm in getting specialist mortgage advice at this stage. That kind of professional insight could be hugely valuable and could help you avoid any pitfalls that might be out there.

The overall take away though is that if you had plans to secure your dream home in 2020, they might not be completely ruled out just yet. The market seems to be moving back in the right direction, which is good news for all concerned.