A total of £2.06bn was paid in Stamp Duty in the last 3 months to June 30^th 2021, when the Stamp Duty Holiday threshold was up to £500,000!

The pent-up demand, the property market has seen an increase in the number of property transactions since the Stamp Duty Holiday announcement was made. Although many people have benefited from not paying any Stamp Dut, many have benefited from a reduction in Stamp Duty due to the first £500,000 being tax free up to June 30^th 2021.

From July 1^st until September 30^th, the Stamp Duty Holiday has been tapered off to £250,000, meaning that anyone purchasing a property under £250,000 will not have to pay any Stamp Duty until September 30th, and for those purchasing a property above the £250,000 mark, the first £250,000 will be tax-free.

The last three months leading to June 30^th, saw a 175% increase in the property market according to HMRC. This has meant that 59,600 homes were bought in the three months leading to June 2021 which were over the £500,000 price point, in comparison to 13,000 purchased in 2020 in the same time period.

Buy-To-Let properties have also added to the amount of Stamp Duty collected in the three months leading to June 2021, with a further £485m added to the Stamp Duty collection. Although investors did benefit from the Stamp Duty Holiday, the 3% additional surcharge for second homes, was not covered by the Stamp Duty Holiday scheme.

The property market continues to thrive and it will be interesting to see what figures were truly raised after the Chancellor’s announcement of the Stamp Duty Holiday scheme was made in order to boost the property market.

Although the tax-free threshold has been tapered to £250,000 until September 30^th, the market continues to show strong signs until the end of the year. The new Help-To-Buy Scheme has also helped first-time buyers to start getting back onto the property market. First-Time buyers once led the property market for the majority of purchased homes. However, since the first national lockdown and the introduction of the Stamp Duty Holiday, many existing homeowners took this opportunity to move to a new home to meet their demands after having evaluated their living situation after the first national lockdown.

With more people working from home and more companies looking to introduce Hybrid working, people are looking to have a separate work space at home, allowing them to separate their work and home life, whilst remote working.

Many families have moved to a larger home in order to ensure everyone has their own space when working or studying from home. Although the pandemic and lockdowns seem to be coming to the end, many are looking at ensuring they have the right living space should the unforeseen happen again!

If you are looking to buy or sell your home, speak with our dedicated team today!