House sales jump 40 percent in March

According to statistics released by HM Revenue & Customs, 60,000 homes worth at least £40,000 each were sold in March, compared with 43,000 in February, representing a 40% increase in sales.

Sales in spring are always higher than earlier in the year, but when seasonally adjusted, the figures still show a 13% rise. These findings are supported by figures released today by the Council of Mortgage Lenders which show a 16% rise in gross mortgage lending, from £9.9 billion in February to £11.5 billion in March.

Similarly, figures recently released by the Bank of England which showed that mortgage approvals rose 19% to 37,937 in February. This followed the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to cut the base rate of interest to a 0.5% which saw many mortgage holder’s payments reduce substantially.

While these figures paint a positive picture of the state of the housing market, critics have been quick to warn that the increase largely reflects the dramatic fall in house prices and that is too early to say went the market will begin its recovery in earnest.

CML director general, Michael Coogan said:

“While the market is beginning to show some signs of stabilising, housing transactions and lending are set to remain low for the foreseeable future.”