More than 750,000 buyers have benefited from the stamp duty holiday announcement, with an average of £4,660 saved per property transaction for people who have bought a home up to £500,000.

Collectively, since Rishi Sonak made the stamp duty holiday announcement, almost 5bn has been saved amongst buyers! It’s estimated that around 600,000 buyers will save an average of £4,660 each, or £2.8bn collectively, providing they complete before March 31st.

A further 104,500 people buying homes costing more than £500,000 will benefit from a reduced stamp duty amount they have to pay, saving an average of £15,000, or £2.1bn collectively. However, they will have to pay tax on the portion of their property’s value above £500,000.

The Chancellor made the stamp duty holiday announcement in July last year to help boost the property market after the first national lockdown, with those assessing their living situation at the time welcoming this news.

Family’s in particular, have been the primary sector who have been evaluating their living situation. With children learning from home and adults working from home with many looking to continue this trend after this pandemic, this has caused families wanting to upgrade to a new home.

For the last 7 years, first-time buyers have been dominating the property market. However, since the stamp duty announcement, stricter lending criteria and fewer available mortgages with a higher Loan-To-Value (LTV), this has given way for buyers moving into a new home to dominate the property market.

Since the property market has opened after the first national lockdown, there has been a surge in property sales, with an increase of 11% changing hands in 2020 than in 2019. The lack of available properties for sale and increased buyer demand has also seen property prices holding well during this pandemic, with a continued price rise since 2019.

The property market continues to show strong signs since January 2021, with this trend expected to carry on for the remaining of 2021.

Buyers will benefit from the stamp duty holiday, providing that completion takes place before the March 31st deadline. At present, it’s not known if the government will look to extend the stamp duty holiday, however, the government added they would take into account market consensus and buyer sentiment when deciding the budget for the next financial year.

With increased demand in the property market and rising property prices, it’s a great time to sell!

If you are thinking of selling your property, speak with one of our property experts today by calling us on 0116 266 9977.

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