Residential property transactions continued to slow last month, down 3.9%, or by around 10,000 deals, according to the latest data from HM Revenue & Customs.

The figures published yesterday revealed that since March, transactions have dropped by 71,000.

But year-on-year, May’s transactions were still up 138.2%, marking the UK’s best May since 2014 at 114,940 transactions.

The current slowdown follows the market’s best quarter since 2007, with HMRC recording 392,860 transactions between January and March 2021.

Sam Mitchell, CEO of online estate agent Strike commented: “Despite property transactions easing in May for the second month in a row, numbers remain well above pre-pandemic levels with buyers and sellers scrambling to complete before the stamp duty holiday deadline at the end of this month.

“Now with only days left until the stamp duty holiday deadline, we expect property transactions to skyrocket, similar to the frenzy we witnessed in March before the original deadline. Some may be expecting a drop after the stamp duty holiday has come to an end, but with the tapering off period until October and the government’s lending scheme combined with low interest rates, there are still plenty of factors to keep the market bubbling into the Autumn.

“Plus, with the extension of lockdown restrictions announced last week, buyers will no doubt still be considering a home that matches their new lifestyle, whether that’s somewhere with more green space or perhaps closer to family.”

There has been a significant drop in the level of residential transactions in both April and May, which was to be expected following the frenzy of activity we saw up until the end of March, according to Jonathan Sealey, CEO at specialist lender Hope Capital.

He said: “Despite the fall in May, it was still the busiest May for transactions since 2014 and still way above pre-pandemic levels.

“A certain amount of cooling off and a return to less frantic levels of activity is likely to be welcomed by some quarters of the sector. However, we anticipate June will produce a further increase as homebuyers push to get over the line before the extended SDLT holiday deadline.

“But, as we hopefully reach the end of lockdown, it’s important that the sector works together to get through the volume of work, and that brokers explore all options for funding such as specialist finance, in order to deliver on the deal.”