The government made £2.9bn from stamp duty in the third quarter of 2016, up from £2.7bn in Q2 and £2.5bn in Q1, HM Revenue and Customs statistics have revealed.
There were 235,000 residential transactions in the third quarter, up from 207,900 in the second.
A total of 56,100 additional properties were liable for the 3% stamp duty surcharge, up from 30,300 in the second quarter.
The last time stamp duty receipts exceeded £2.9bn was the fourth quarter of 2015.
Jeremy Duncombe, director of Legal & General Mortgage Club, said: “Given the turbulence in Britain’s political landscape in the last six months, it’s reassuring to see that today’s statistics have not shown a drastic drop in transaction numbers.
“Despite a generally positive set of numbers, the structural challenges in our housing market remain.
“The demand for affordable housing continues to overwhelmingly outstrip supply. Until this issue is tackled head on by our government and the housebuilding industry, prices will outstrip wages and remain unaffordable for many.
“Only when we balance supply and demand will we start to see our housing market revert back to a healthier, more affordable state, leading to sustainable increasing transaction numbers.”
Broken down there were 126,800 transactions below £250,000 in Q3 2016, higher than the Q3 2015 total of 121,600.
But the higher end of the market slowed, as over £500,000 there were 27,500 transactions in Q3 2016 – down from 28,600 in Q3 last year.
Betsy Dillner, director of Generation Rent, said: “The government’s landlord surcharge has clearly had a successful first six months, judging by stamp duty receipts.
“It has been too easy for speculators to ride the property market, shutting out would-be first-time buyers in the process, so it is only right that the government uses the tax system to deter or mitigate this.
“The Chancellor now needs to use those proceeds to help people who remain a long way from homeownership by investing in new rented homes for low income households. The extra money raised by the surcharge since April could fund more than 6000 social homes.”
