Sales of residential and commercial properties have increased
Sales of residential and commercial properties have increased, but so has the housing shortage, say leading audit, tax and business advisory firm Blick Rothenberg.
Heather Powell, a partner at the firm, said: “The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will have been delighted to note that HMRC’s latest statistics show that sales of residential and commercial properties in July 2025 have continued to creep upwards when compared to July 2024. The data on sales is extracted from Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) returns, so every sale represents further tax paid to HMRC.”
She added: “What the statistics do not tell us is how many of the sales are homes being sold by buy-to-let investors to families. While we all celebrate when a family can purchase a home, the exit of buy-to-let investors, driven by changes in the tax regime and increased regulation, means that there is an increasing shortage of homes.”
Heather said: “This is illustrated by rapidly rising rents in areas such as the South East, which is impacting on the ability of people to move to where jobs are available, and an ever-increasing number of adults who are living with their parents, as they just cannot afford to rent a property.”
She added: “The recent suggestion that buy-to-let landlords may be required to pay national insurance on their rental income is only going to accelerate sales, exacerbating this issue and reducing social mobility for hard-working, well-educated students which are so desperately needed to help drive UK economic growth.”