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Statistics at HMRC
More homes changed hands in March 2016 than in any month since August 2007. According to statistics published by HMRC there were nearly 162,000 residential property transactions in March.
Paul Haywood-Schiefer, assistant tax manager at Blick Rothenberg, said the increase was the result of second-home owners and buy-to-let landlords rushing to beat the new additional 3% stamp duty land tax (SDLT) that came into force on 1 April 2016.
He added: ‘The government expected the introduction of the additional rate would result in higher SDLT receipts of £30m as investors looked to beat the 1 April 2016 deadline. However, when comparing the four months to March 2016 with the same period in the previous year, receipts were £482m higher.’
However, he expected a ‘cooling-off period in the next few months’.
