UK property sales hit £37bn in market’s busiest month in decade

Rightmove says coronavirus pandemic has ‘rewritten the rulebook’ as pent-up demand helps buck usual summer slowdown trends

Property for sale signs in London, England
(Image credit: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)

More than £37bn worth of property sales were agreed in the UK in July as the number of transactions soared by 38% year-on-year, new figures from Rightmove show.

The property website - which according to The Guardian “typically lists about 95% of homes for sale in the UK” - says the “rulebook has been rewritten”, with the market enjoying its busiest month since Rightmove began tracking the data a decade ago. “Pent-up demand from the coronavirus lockdown and a desire to leave London”, plus a cut in stamp duty, are credited with averting the “usual summer slowdown”, adds Reuters.

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Mike Starling is the former digital features editor at The Week. He started his career in 2001 in Gloucestershire as a sports reporter and sub-editor and has held various roles as a writer and editor at news, travel and B2B publications. He has spoken at a number of sports business conferences and also worked as a consultant creating sports travel content for tourism boards. International experience includes spells living and working in Dubai, UAE; Brisbane, Australia; and Beirut, Lebanon.