Residential property transactions fell hard in July, HMRC has reported.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the figure fell from 119,820 transactions in June to 107,500 in July.

The figure was up slightly on July last year, when there were 106,040 transactions.

This July, there were falls in all four countries in the UK.

Seasonally adjusted, it is of course a different story.

On that basis HMRC has reported that transactions went up slightly on a monthly basis and more substantially on a yearly basis.

Seasonally adjusted, there were 104,760 transactions, up 1.3% from 103,450 in June, and up 8.3% from 96,740 in July last year.

Confused? Well, that’s seasonal adjustment for you. It must keep a lot of economists and think-tanks in employment.

But surely HMRC knows exactly how much Stamp Duty has actually been paid in how many transactions. And that must be the figure that counts.

* Separately, Spicerhaart has reported that house sales (to SSTC status) were up 8.8% in July on a monthly basis, but still lagging by 10.4% July of last year. The average UK house price at SSTC was £240,869 across the haart network, and £555,396 in London.