HRMC’s provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in October 2021 is 76,930, 28.2% lower than October 2020 and a whopping 52.0% lower than September.

Its provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate in October is 85,090, 30.1% lower than October 2020 and 48.4% lower than September 2021.

John Phillips, national operations director at Just Mortgages said: “After an erratic 18 months, with record high spikes in activity, the property market should now settle with transactions levelling out.

“As the dust settles from the stamp duty holiday, the October figures gave us a clearer picture of the property market. The story they tell is an encouraging one, as despite the return of stamp duty, there is still strong demand for property.

“Despite the end of the stamp duty holiday, lenders appear to still be confident in the resilience of the market, and aren’t predicting a drop in prices any time soon. This is clearly demonstrated by the availability of 95% LTV mortgages, which have returned in force over the past few months. This should hopefully bring more first-time buyers to the market, as they are mainly exempt from stamp duty.”