Stamp duty holiday aims to revive housing market
Yesterday the chancellor announced the suspension of stamp duty on property sales of up to £500,000 in England and Northern Ireland.
It is sure to revive the housing market, according to industry experts, as buyers and sellers emerge from the coronavirus lockdown.
In the first half hour of the chancellor making the stamp duty holiday announcement, property website Rightmove saw traffic jump by 22%, they also announced that on Tuesday, 7th July they had their busiest day ever with 7.7 million visits. A positive sign that the housing market may indeed be boosted by the stamp duty changes.
Rightmove’s property expert Miles Shipside said: “This move will help to keep the nation and wider economy moving because keeping the current momentum going will help prevent destabilising falls in property prices as unemployment grows, and enable a quicker economic recovery. Lockdown prevented 175,000 would be sellers from coming to market so we hope this Stamp Duty holiday will provide the spur for those missing movers to come to market. They will find there’s currently record demand for their properties from prospective buyers, with Rightmove enquiries to agents now double what they were before lockdown. Home-movers will be grateful that the changes come into effect straight away so they don’t have to delay their plans, and what we could see now is people rushing to get a price agreed before some sellers put their prices up in the hope people will be able to pay more because of the tax savings.”
Like income tax, stamp duty is charged at different rates as the price hits different thresholds. The stamp duty holiday means that buyers will pay 5% on any part of their purchase that falls between £500,000 and £925,000; 10% on any part between £925,000 and £1.5m; and 12% above that. The stamp duty holiday will start immediately and last until 31 March 2021.
If this significant tax saving has got you thinking about moving, purchasing a second home or even investing in a buy to let property, our Mortgage and Protection Adviser Eddy Chow can help. Eddy can provide whole of market mortgage solutions and has access to exclusive products, ensuring you receive the best deal possible on your mortgage.
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