THE PROPERTY FILTER TAKE
Seasonally adjusted UK residential transactions fell to 96,710 in July, which HMRC puts at 2% below June's 98,390 and 1% below July 2025 (HMRC, 28 August 2026).
Fewer completions each month means a longer run from accepted offer to cleared funds, and the completion date is what decides which tax year a disposal lands in.
The number that matters is 393,800 completions between April and July 2026, 14.8% above the same four months of the previous financial year. Consider setting your sale timetable against that run rate, and speak to your accountant about the tax year your disposal will fall into.
UK property transactions came in at 96,710 in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, which HMRC puts at 2% below June's 98,390 (HMRC, 28 August 2026). That is also 1% below the 97,820 recorded in July 2025. Seasonally adjusted means the figures are stripped of the usual month-by-month swings in buying and selling. So a fall of 1,680 completions is a genuine thinning, not a summer lull.
How does a slower month change your exit?
A transactions count is a liquidity count. It tells you how many sales actually crossed the line, which is the only number that matters when you are trying to turn bricks into cash.
HMRC's own caveat is the useful part. The department states that these statistics represent completions which are on average two to four months after an initial offer is made on a property. It also states that they do not necessarily represent the current strength of the property market. Say an offer is accepted on 30 August 2026. On that stated lag, completion lands somewhere between late October and late December. You may wish to price two extra months of mortgage and running costs into the plan. Our free stress test calculator will show what those months cost at a stressed rate.
That window is where the tax question sits. A disposal is the sale or transfer of a property. Which tax year it falls into depends on the dates that end up on the paperwork, not on the date you shook hands. If you hold several properties and you are sequencing sales, the ordering question belongs with your accountant before it belongs with your agent. Our business and systems hub covers the structural side of running a portfolio.
Why the year to date still runs 14.8% ahead
One soft month is not a downturn. Between April and July 2026 there were 393,800 seasonally adjusted residential transactions, against 342,900 in the same four months of the previous financial year (HMRC, 28 August 2026). That is 50,900 more completions, an increase of 14.8%.
Here is the worked example. Dividing 393,800 by four gives a monthly average of 98,450 for this financial year so far. The same sum on 342,900 gives 85,725. The gap is 12,725 completions a month. July's 96,710 therefore sits just below this year's own average and well above last year's.
One reason the comparison flatters 2026 is worth naming. HMRC's commentary points to a large peak in transactions in March 2025 and a subsequent drop in April 2025. It attributes both to transactions brought forward ahead of the SDLT (Stamp Duty Land Tax) threshold reductions from 1 April 2025. The base for the April to July comparison is a depressed one. Wider market reading sits in our property investment strategies hub.
What the figures are built from, and why they will move
These are provisional numbers. HMRC compiles the series from stamp duty returns. It states that not all returns are received when the figures are compiled, that revisions are expected, and that transactions figures generally settle after approximately three months. The July estimate published on 28 August 2026 is unlikely to settle before late November.
Stamp duty is devolved, and the labels differ by nation. SDLT applies in England and Northern Ireland. Scotland uses LBTT (Land and Buildings Transaction Tax), supplied to HMRC by Revenue Scotland, and Wales uses LTT (Land Transaction Tax), supplied by the Welsh Revenue Authority. HMRC stitches all three together, which is why this is a UK-wide count rather than an England-only one. To see what a buyer faces on your sale price under each regime, our free stamp duty calculator covers all three.
Mark Harris, chief executive of SPF Private Clients, told Mortgage Strategy on 28 August 2026 that "affordability remains an issue for many". He added that lenders "chipping away at their mortgage pricing in recent weeks" is good news for those looking to move. The commercial side was quieter. Non-residential transactions came in at 10,350 in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, 2% below July 2025 and marginally higher than June (HMRC, 28 August 2026).
Key takeaways
Seasonally adjusted UK residential transactions were 96,710 in July, which HMRC puts at 2% below June's 98,390 and 1% below July 2025 (HMRC, 28 August 2026).
April to July 2026 produced 393,800 seasonally adjusted transactions, 50,900 more than the same four months of the previous financial year, an increase of 14.8%.
That is a monthly average of 98,450 this financial year against 85,725 last year, a gap of 12,725 completions a month.
HMRC states completions come on average two to four months after an initial offer, so an offer accepted on 30 August 2026 would complete around late October to late December.
The July figure is provisional and generally settles after around three months, which makes it a draft rather than a final count until late November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Does a 2% fall in transactions mean house prices are falling?
When will the July figure be final?
Does this data cover Scotland and Wales?
How does a slower market affect my tax position on a sale?
When is the next set of figures published?
