UK home sales 94,800 in September 2026, 4% below last year

HMRC counted 94,800 UK residential sales in September 2026, 4% fewer than a year earlier, thinning the resale market buyers will one day sell into.

The facts

HMRC's provisional count for September 2026 is 94,800 seasonally adjusted residential transactions, against 95,300 in August.
The month-on-month move is described by the department as a fall of less than 1%.
Measured against September 2025, the adjusted figure is 4% lower.
Without seasonal adjustment September came in at 97,940 completions: 1% above August, 5% below September 2025.
Non-residential transactions barely moved, at 10,160 adjusted and 10,500 unadjusted, the latter 16% above August.
HMRC marks the latest month as provisional and notes that counts generally settle after about three months.

What it means for your money

Fewer buyers mean less competition on price. The same thin market is what you meet when you resell.
Transaction costs set the floor under any resale. The Glopra data show total UK transaction costs at 9.8% of the price, on an average British home of 361,632 USD, so a sale has to clear that amount first.
For someone who already owns there the question is timing rather than price: the average UK home is still 0.9% above a year ago, while the pool of buyers is 4% smaller.

What to watch

The next HMRC release, on 27 November 2026, covers October and will revise September.
The adjusted and unadjusted series point opposite ways this month, at plus 1% and just under minus 1% against August; the adjusted series is the one to follow.
HMRC counts completed deals, not agreed sales, so the figures describe decisions taken weeks earlier.

Sources: HM Revenue and Customs https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/monthly-property-transactions-completed-in-the-uk-with-value-40000-or-above/uk-monthly-property-transactions-commentary--2

Market data: Edinburgh · Manchester · United Kingdom · London