Surge in house sales as stamp duty holiday comes into effect

There has been a large increase in house sales following the introduction of the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) holiday.

After a 14.5% rise in July, residential property transactions in August rose a further 15.6% as more people decided to buy a new home. The increase came after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a stamp duty holiday for residential properties worth up to £500,000, effective from 8 July 2020 until 31 March 2021.

The holiday means nine out of ten people getting on or moving up the property ladder will pay no SDLT at all. This measure delivers an average saving of £4,500.

Mr Sunak said: “This isn’t just about the housing market. Owners doing up their homes to sell and buyers reinvesting stamp duty savings to make their new house feel like a home are also firing up local businesses, supporting, creating and protecting jobs across the country.”

Figures from the Building Societies Association show that there has been a marked uplift in the number of people who say that now is a good time to buy a property – 37% in September compared to 25% in June, whilst figures from Checkatrade show that:

more than one in ten (11%) people are hoping to have bought a new home by the end of March 2021
33% of those hoping to move plan to spend the ‘extra’ cash on home improvements and renovations.

Private housing output grew by about 30% in July compared to June, the single largest contributor to the monthly growth in construction output that month.

Please contact Jackie Hand or Dipak Odedra if you would like advice about the legal aspects of buying or selling a home.