UK Home Sales Slipped to 96,710 in July, Down 2% on June

HMRC counted 96,710 UK residential property transactions in July 2026, down 2% on June and 1% on a year earlier. Non-adjusted sales rose 3% on the month.

HM Revenue and Customs published provisional July transaction counts on 28 August: 96,710 residential property sales completed across the UK on a seasonally adjusted basis. That is 2% below June's 98,390 and 1% below the same month in 2025. Transaction volume is the least glamorous housing indicator and often the most honest one, because it counts deals that actually completed rather than prices sellers hoped to achieve.

Adjusted down, unadjusted up

The two versions of the same series point in opposite directions this month, and the difference is instructive. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, residential transactions were 3% higher than June. July is normally a strong completion month in the UK, so the raw increase is what the calendar produces on its own. Once that seasonal pattern is stripped out, the underlying pace was slightly weaker than June rather than stronger.

The commercial side moved similarly. Seasonally adjusted non-residential transactions were marginally above June but 2% lower than a year earlier; unadjusted, they rose 3% on the month and were marginally above July 2025.

A market moving cautiously rather than stalling

HMRC does not editorialise, but the trade reaction was consistent. Richard Sexton of HouzeCheck described the figures as "a reminder that the housing market is still moving cautiously", while Paul Adams of Pepper Money read them as evidence that June's brief improvement "hasn't turned into anything more lasting".

The price data released a day earlier fits that reading. Zoopla's August index, published 27 August, put annual UK house price growth at 0.9%, down from 1.3% in June, with an average price of £272,800. Sales agreed were 6% below a year earlier though the gap was narrowing, and 5% more homes were listed for sale. Buyer searches were 7% higher than a year ago, the strongest annual increase in twelve months — interest is recovering faster than completions.

The investor's read

Glopra tracks the UK at $3,850 per square metre nationally with a gross rental yield of 7.35%, one of the higher gross yields among developed European markets in our file, and annual price growth of 2.0% in local terms. Our Bubble Risk score is 41, in the moderate band.

That yield figure needs its counterweight. The standardised effective tax on rental income for a non-resident landlord is 18.51%, and total transaction costs run near 9.8% — meaning roughly a year and a half of gross rent is consumed by the round trip of buying alone. A market with flat prices, thinning completions and rising listings is one where the income component, not capital growth, carries the return.

The risk in the other direction is that the search data is real. If the 7% rise in buyer interest converts into offers through the autumn, the transaction series would turn before prices do, and July's 2% dip would look like the bottom rather than the trend.

Sources: HMRC / GOV.UK monthly property transactions, 28 Aug 2026 https://gov.uk/government/publications/monthly-property-transactions-completed-in-the-uk-with-value-40000-or-above/uk-monthly-property-transactions-commentary; The Intermediary, 28 Aug 2026 https://theintermediary.co.uk/2026/08/property-transactions-fall-by-2-in-july-hmrc/; Zoopla House Price Index, 27 Aug 2026 https://www.zoopla.co.uk/discover/property-news/house-price-index/

Market data: United Kingdom