P2P property platforms not worried about drop in transactions
Peer-to-peer property lending platforms are not concerned that residential transactions have dropped monthly and have instead welcomed a busy April, arguing the market remains buoyant.
HMRC’s latest property transactions data has showed the provisional seasonally-adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in April 2021 is 117860, 179.5 per cent higher than April 2020 but 35.7 per cent lower than March 2021.
Read more: More lenders turn to higher-yielding real estate investments
“It’s expected,” said Filip Karadaghi, chief executive of LandlordInvest.
“Throughout the year we had Covid and managing the economy while property transactions have been increasing. It’s expected to see a slight drop after the stamp duty holiday ended in March. I don’t see any other reason than that.
“We were very busy in April especially given the specialist financing we do so we don’t notice the same effects as vanilla residential transactions.
“Activity is still very high and we see a lot of enquiries. It appears the property market is still continuing to perform strongly and I expect that to continue for the rest of the year.”
Stuart Law, chief executive of Assetz Capital, said the numbers could be down to some prospective buyers acting on concerns about whether transactions will complete before the stamp duty holiday ends. However, he noted that the figures also represent the highest number of transactions in April for a decade.
He added the demand has been fuelled by government support, the ongoing housing shortage and people wanting to move to areas with more space.
Read more: Warm reception for upcoming planning bill
“The data demonstrates how incredible demand has been fuelling transactional activity as people have moved on mass to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday, as well as historically low interest rates and new 95 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages,” Law said.
“While it is never possible to sustain continued growth in market activity indefinitely, demand is being underpinned by a more wholesale lifestyle re-evaluation across the country.
“That means that even when economic support schemes end, we are still likely to continue to see sustained demand after the stamp duty holiday tappers off as people continue to reflect on lockdown and arrive at the conclusion they want more space, access to nature, and a more flexible lifestyle which takes advantage of the shift to hybrid or home working.”
Yann Murciano, chief executive at Blend Network, pointed to government support and regional trends.
Read more: P2P property has performed “admirably” as new growth is predicted
“The expansion of the stamp-duty holiday and increased support for first-time buyers (for example, 95 per cent mortgages) has really kicked in,” he said.
“And we continue to see people wanting to move due to change in preferences post-lockdown.
“I’m not sure the data shows the regional breakdown, but what we have seen on the price data is a very big difference between regions, with London and the South West lagging behind parts of the Midlands, for example.”