HMRC statistics released this week (24/04/2019) show that UK residential properties in 2018/19 were down by more than 17,500 transactions from the previous tax year, a fall of 1.46 percent, according to London accountancy, tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg.

The knock on effect of this was almost a 7.5 percent decrease in SDLT receipts, down £968 million on the 2017/18 tax year.

Paul Haywood-Schiefer, a personal tax manager at the firm said. “It’s not surprising to see a downturn in the figures for both property transactions and SDLT receipts over the past year. Buying a new property is a big decision and peopl...