45% of all properties will be exempt from stamp duty from July to September

On 3 March 2021, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) holiday will be extended until 30 June 2021 after facing pressure to extend the deadline by three months amid concerns of a ‘cliff-edge’ come the end of March.

In the 2021 budget, Sunak confirmed that buyers hoping to make the most of the savings of the higher £500,000 nil-rate band will now have until the end of June to complete sales in England and Northern Ireland. From the end of June until the end of September 2021, the nil-rate band will reduce from £500,000 to £250,000.

This comes as a huge relief to homebuyers who were hoping to take advantage of the holiday, yet with the initial deadline looming, were not so optimistic about the transaction completing in time.  We know our home movers currently in the process of seeing through their sales and purchasers are over the moon with the news.

 

On the announcement to extend the stamp duty holiday until end of June:

• The average stamp duty saving in England is £5,802
• People enquiring about properties under £500,000 on Rightmove makes up 84% of all buyer enquiries in England
• People enquiring about properties under £250,000 on Rightmove makes up 50% of all buyer enquiries in England
• Rightmove estimates an additional 300,000 property transactions in England could get through by end of June, based on previous HMRC transaction data
• If an additional 300,000 transactions made it through, buyers could save £1.75 billion in total
• Based on the current sales that have been agreed in England, 80% of them would pay no stamp duty due to the holiday

Rightmove’s property expert Tim Bannister said: “This three-month extension will come as a huge relief for those people who have been going through the sales process since last year and were always expecting to make use of the stamp duty savings. Our recent data shows one in five sales that were agreed in the same month the stamp duty holiday was first announced in July last year still haven’t completed, so this additional time will make a big difference to help those stuck in the logjam complete their purchase in time before the new end of June deadline.

 “Buyers who have recently agreed a sale now have a race on their hands to see if they can also make use of the stamp duty savings, but many with purchases over £250,000 will find that time is too tight to complete before the end of June and so shouldn’t be factoring this into their purchase. It’s worth remembering that the average savings vary massively around England, and first-time buyers will still be exempt if they’re buying for £300,000 or less. There are also many other reasons people are choosing to move, evidenced by the strong buyer demand Rightmove has already seen in the first two months of the year.”

With a road map to summer including the easing of lockdown restrictions we at Coast & Country have already seen a surge in activity and confidence in the Newton Abbot and wider area market. This added relief to home movers pocket has us preparing for a very busy few months.

If you are looking to buy, get your property on the market - we expect there to be a choice of buyers for our vendors so ensure you are in a great buying position to secure your dream property. For any help, advice or a free valuation feel free to get in touch with us today.