Property sales in UK declined 52% in October

According to official data, property sales in the United Kingdom dropped by over half in October after the expiry of a tax break, which sought to encourage home buying during the Covid-19 pandemic. The tax office in Britain has reported 76,930 transactions of residential housings in October, which is 52% lower than in September and 28.2% lower than October last year. Finance Minister of Britain, Rishi Sunak, scrapped the tax on stamp duty on the first 500,000 pounds of property purchases in England and Northern Ireland. The complete tax exemption had expired at June end, but the buyers benefitted from the 250,000 pounds exemption until September end. The tax exemption in Wales stopped in June, while Scotland stopped a tax break in March. Data shows that housing prices continued to rise in October, pushed up in large part by a shortage of homes in the market. The housing sector in Britain has also been boosted by the demand for bigger properties due to the work from home norms. Image Source Also read: Property registrations in Indore recorded a 60% jump in June