Mortgage FinTech market cools after March spike in UK transactions

By Milan Rojan

UK residential property transactions have eased in April 2026 following a strong March, according to HMRC’s latest provisional data, as mortgage and property-finance markets have adjusted to earlier tax-driven activity.

Seasonally adjusted residential transactions have stood at 101,030 in April, down 3% from March but 53% higher year on year. HMRC has said the annual increase has reflected a weak base in April 2025 after buyers have brought forward purchases ahead of stamp duty threshold changes.

For mortgage lenders, FinTech platforms and digital property-finance providers, the figures have pointed to a market that has remained active but uneven, with volatility largely driven by timing effects rather than a sharp shift in underlying demand.

Melanie Spencer, growth director at Target Group, said, “Despite being up on the previous year, April saw the end to the momentum that had been quietly building in spite of the all the recent disruption. As mortgage pricing shifted, so did sentiment among buyers as prospective purchasers fell away and left those that need to move. Today though, we wake up to news of rate cuts across the market, including from some of the big boys – reacting to recent easing of swap rates and the view that a base rate hike is now less likely. There’s an argument to say that there is still some margin to work with and depending on competition and where lenders are against target, we could see more movement. As advisers encourage clients to move quickly and capture these deals in a rapidly changing market, lenders need to make sure they are fully prepared and can withstand any extra demand. As the market landscape continues to shift at pace, efficient, scalable and tech-enabled processes become absolutely critical.”

HMRC has noted that the data has been based on completed transactions, which typically have lagged real-time demand by two to four months. As a result, lenders and property-finance technology firms have continued to rely on live application flows and pricing signals to assess current momentum more accurately.

Analysts have said affordability trends and potential easing in borrowing costs could have supported a gradual stabilisation in activity through the summer, although short-term fluctuations have continued to reflect macroeconomic uncertainty and policy timing distortions.

HMRC has added that the figures have remained provisional and may have been revised as additional transaction data has been received.