Estate agents, surveyors and solicitors are asking the government to extend the stamp duty holiday by a further six months, as homebuyers face a race against time to get their moves over the line. Mortgage approvals and legal work are progressing slowly as lenders and lawyers struggle to keep up with demand from movers looking to benefit from savings of up to £15,000. Here, 123estateAgent explains how the stamp duty cut has energised the property market and discuss whether the government could extend the deadline beyond 31 March 2021.
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Stamp duty holiday continues to help hundreds of thousands jobs
Stamp duty holiday brings demand and delays, the government temporarily introduced higher stamp duty thresholds as it sought to encourage home moves after the COVID-19 lockdown. This means movers can save as much as £15,000 if they buy a home before 31 March 2021. The cut has certainly reignited the market, but the rush to buy before the deadline has resulted in delays. Estate agents, lenders, surveyors and conveyancers are all facing huge pressure on resources, resulting in everything from mortgage valuations to legal formalities taking longer than before. Zoopla says that around 140,000 property sales are currently in the pipeline – double the number usually seen at this time of year. The property portal says 92% of sales agreed in November and 81% of sales agreed in December are completed before the end of the following March in a normal year – but this year is anything but normal. So those waiting until after Christmas to make an offer may face disappointment, with only half of sales agreed in January normally getting over the line before the end of March.
House sales rose by 21.3% in September following the introduction of the stamp duty holiday – helping to protect hundreds of thousands of jobs in the housing sector and wider supply chain.
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Bank of England Economic Analysis Division.
Industry calls for stamp duty extension Earlier in November, a group of property professionals united to write to the Chancellor to request that the stamp duty deadline be extended. The joint letter is signed by 14 trade bodies, including estate agency, surveying, conveyancing and removals associations. The group is requesting that the government extends the stamp duty holiday by at least six months, and has asked for an announcement to be made before Christmas. Mark Hayward of the estate agency group NAEA Propertymark says: ‘The stamp duty cliff edge on 31 March could cause thousands of sales to fall at the final hurdle and have a drastic effect on the housing market. ‘We are calling for a rethink of these timings, so pressure on the system can be released to allow transactions to complete and avoid a disorderly and distressing period for movers and businesses.
Will the stamp duty cut be extended? So far, the government has maintained that the 31 March deadline won’t be extended. Last week, in response to a question in the House of Commons, housing minister Christopher Pincher told MPs: ‘The government does not plan to extend stamp duty relief, and will continue to monitor the property market.’ It remains to be seen whether the pleas from the industry will prompt the government into a rethink.
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Building Societies Association Property Tracker