Housing market stalls in April as government looks to ‘speed up and build out’

Residential property transactions in April 2025 were 28% lower than April 2024 and 64% lower than March 2024. 

For the same period, non-residential transactions decreased by 9% from April 2024 and 16% from March 2025. 

Commenting on the latest government figures for monthly property transactions, Stacy Eden, Partner and Head of Real Estate at RSM UK, said: "Residential property transactions in April were artificially low following last month’s rush to beat the reduction in stamp duty land tax (SDLT) bands from 1 April 2025. The slowdown in April was expected and the key concern now is whether it continues in the coming months. However, industry is hopeful that future activity returns to a normal level of 100,000 transactions per month.

“But it is concerning that the level of commercial transactions dropped to 9,410, the lowest level in 10 years, with the exception of April 2020, and is 10% lower than normal April transaction numbers. This may very well be due to global uncertainties, particularly around US tariff policy and ongoing concern towards higher tax burdens including employers’ National Insurance contributions and personal inheritance tax changes, which are holding overseas and domestic investors back from investing in UK real estate.” 

He added: “Notwithstanding these challenges, the government’s ‘Speeding Up Build Out’ working paper on planning reform highlights that meaningful policies could be pursued to ensure the right incentives exist within the housing market. But local planning authorities need to be equipped with the right resource to accelerate housebuilding. However, the introduction of the Delayed Homes Penalty indicates there is a fundamental disconnect between the government’s current approach and the realities of housing development, with the policy showing a misinterpretation as to why projects fail to progress on schedule.”