The number of UK residential property transactions totalled 108,250 in February, 28% higher than February 2024 and 13% higher than in January, according to the latest HMRC statistics.
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, transactions were 24% higher than February 2024 and 10% higher than January 2025.
Property experts pointed to the impending stamp duty deadline, as well as base rate cuts in the second half of last year, as key drivers of market momentum.
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: “Transaction numbers have picked up on the back of rate reductions and buyers trying to take advantage of stamp duty savings before they disappear at the end of this month. The market remains quite tough but business continues to pick up as the sun comes out and the weather starts to improve.
"Rate reductions are a great way of boosting confidence and activity in the housing market, as we saw with the base rate cuts in the second half of last year and the reduction earlier this year. Further reductions from the Bank of England will help improve confidence and affordability, particularly once the stamp duty concession has ended.”
Andrew Lloyd, managing director at Search Acumen, commented: "February's uptick in activity highlights the continued recovery of the UK real estate market, with the impending stamp duty deadline acting as a significant driver for increased transactions.
"This momentum was bolstered by a slight loosening of monetary conditions in February’s interest rate decision, even if the sector would have preferred for this trend to continue into this month.
"A healthy property market depends on translating growing investor confidence into a steady, sustained flow of transactions.
"Echoing the Chancellor’s Spring Statement on the need to modernise public services, transaction processes need to be ‘more efficient, more productive, and more focused on the user’.
"AI enabled tools can help modernise our current archaic procedures and ensure buyer/seller activity keeps up the pace throughout the year."
Richard Pike, chief sales and marketing officer at Phoebus Software, added: “A peak in residential transactions in February was expected as buyers rushed to complete purchases ahead of the stamp duty deadline, mirroring trends seen before previous tax changes. While this has contributed to the uplift in today’s figures and is likely to be repeated in March data, we may see a slowdown in April as the market adjusts. Despite this, transaction levels remain significantly higher than this time last year, suggesting underlying demand is still strong. With interest rate cuts this year providing some support but broader economic pressures weighing on affordability, the coming months will be key in assessing whether market momentum can be sustained.”
