HMRC says UK residential property transactions reached their highest monthly level in a year in March, but the headline rebound came against a badly distorted comparison with last spring’s stamp duty rush.
March transactions rise on the month but stay well below last year
Seasonally adjusted residential transactions rose 1 percent month on month to 104,070 in March 2026, up from 102,750 in February and the highest monthly total since March 2025. But they were still 41 percent lower than a year earlier, when buyers piled through the system ahead of changes to stamp duty thresholds in April 2025.
Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark, said the year-on-year slowdown was no surprise given the unusually high base for comparison. He also warned that uncertainty around borrowing costs and wider economic pressures could still lengthen transaction times and test affordability through the spring market.
That distortion matters for landlords because completed transactions reflect deals agreed months earlier, not necessarily what buyers and investors are deciding today. Pepper Money argues the steadier underlying picture suggests the market has not rolled over, but that borrowers are becoming more cautious about changing their finance arrangements while rates remain elevated.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s recent report on Land Registry transactions jumping in March after February’s lull, which showed momentum returning before the latest HMRC release. The new figures suggest activity is still holding up, but that last year’s tax-driven surge continues to make the annual comparison look weaker than the underlying market probably is.
Landlords still face a tighter buying environment than the headline suggests
For property investors, the practical message is less upbeat than the one-year high headline implies. The tax cost of buying additional property remains far higher than it was before the April 2025 threshold changes, and mortgage pricing is still sensitive to inflation risks and global volatility.
Ryan McGrath, director of second charge mortgages at Pepper Money, said the current rate environment was keeping many borrowers focused on continuity over change. In other words, owners are more likely to preserve attractive existing deals than refinance aggressively unless the maths clearly works in their favour.
What this means for landlords
- If you’re looking to buy: the March recovery does not mean acquisition costs have eased – stress test deals against stamp duty, finance and slower transaction times.
- Watch for: how April and May data looks once the last of the stamp-duty distortion drops out of the annual comparison.
- Bottom line: the market is proving more stable than the raw year-on-year fall suggests, but it is not yet a cheap or easy environment for expansion.
Editor’s view
The one-year high sounds strong, but landlords should be careful not to mistake statistical rebound for improved buying conditions. The market is moving, but tax and finance still make the path to expansion much harder than the monthly headline suggests.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 30 April 2026
Sources: HMRC monthly property transactions commentary, Propertymark comment, Pepper Money comment
Related reading: Land Registry transactions jump in March after February lull
