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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Anna Wise

UK home sales see huge spike as stamp duty ‘distorts’ market

United Kingdom HMRC Customs HM Revenue
The sharp increase was driven by lower activity the year before - (PA Archive)

UK house sales surged by 53% last month compared to the previous year, new estimates show, though experts caution that stamp duty changes are "distorting" the market.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reported 101,030 residential transactions across the UK in April. This marks a significant rise from the 65,960 recorded in the same month of 2025.

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