Rising property values and frozen Stamp Duty thresholds are putting the brakes on housing market activity. Higher costs are making it increasingly expensive for buyers to move home.
The latest HMRC figures underline those concerns, with UK residential property transactions dipping in July. Buyers completed an estimated 96,710 transactions during the month, on a seasonally adjusted basis. This was down 2% from June and 1% compared with July 2025.
Audit, tax and business advisory firm Blick Rothenberg says rising house prices are pushing more buyers into higher Stamp Duty bands. Unchanged Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) thresholds are also increasing the upfront cost of moving.
The firm says the growing tax burden is becoming a significant barrier to transactions. It could discourage would-be movers and restrict activity across the housing market.
Mark Cunningham, a partner at the firm, said: “While borrowing costs, wider cost of living pressures and political and economic uncertainty have all weighed on market activity, the cost of moving itself has become an increasingly important consideration. Rising property values and frozen SDLT thresholds have resulted in a larger tax burden on most transactions, increasing the overall cost of moving.”
“HMRC’s latest transaction figures suggest the housing market continues to struggle to gain any significant momentum. The seasonally adjusted number of residential transactions fell to 96,710 in July 2026, down from 98,390 in June 2026 and 1% lower than July last year.”
Cunningham continued: “While activity remains well above the levels seen during parts of 2023 and early 2024, figures suggest the market has yet to establish a sustained upward trend. SDLT will not be the sole reason transaction levels remain subdued, but it is one of the mechanisms available to the government to stimulate activity.”
“As a transaction tax it increases the upfront cost of moving and is therefore likely to influence behaviour, particularly at a time when household budgets remain under pressure.”
“At a time when housing remains a key policy priority, there is a strong argument that encouraging transactions should form part of the government’s strategy alongside increasing supply.”
“The property market does not just need homes to be built. It also needs people to move. If transaction levels remain relatively flat despite a more settled economic backdrop, attention should turn to barriers preventing transactions from taking place,” he added.
