As expected, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced a “mini-Budget” on Wednesday, in which he introduced a six-month stamp duty holiday for all properties up to £500,000.
According to analysis by Zoopra (LON:ZPG), the scheme will increase the total number of homes eligible for stamp duty exemption from 16% of all UK sales by 73% to 89%.
The company predicts that consumers will save £1.3 billion on stamp duty payments over six months, assuming Sunak is not extended, with first-time buyers saving up to £14,999 when they buy at the top of their allowance. I expect it to save money.
Zoopla says the biggest beneficiaries will be in affordable areas in and around London, where up to 95% of sales will be stamp duty free. Furthermore, from today, the 28 authorities said more than 90% of home sales can expect stamp duty exemptions.
Going forward, the company said it can and should do more to stimulate the market in the long term, including extending the Help to Buy scheme and introducing comparable alternatives.
Dealing with Sunak stamp duty holidays
Richard Donnell, Director of Research and Insights at Zoopla, commented on the mini-budgets:
“An immediate increase in the stamp duty threshold will help sustain the recovery in housing market activity across England. The benefits will be immediate. Nine out of 10 transactions in England are exempt from tax In London and the South East, where more expensive properties exist, homebuyers can save up to £14,999 a night.
“The government hopes the changes will further boost home sales in the second half of this year, with the money buyers save being reinvested in home improvements, white goods and furniture, rather than bidding up the price of a home. ”
Mark Peck, head of housing at Cheffins, agreed with previous analysis that the stamp duty holiday would boost demand. While this may help current first-time buyers, future buyers will face further price increases. He added:
“Although the report shows a decline in prices across the property market, this is somewhat misleading. In fact, in most cases, values have not actually fallen, but rather that buyers are buying during lockdown. renegotiations or failed sales, but the lockdown This problem will soon be resolved now that the pandemic has eased and markets are seeing near normal levels of activity.In fact, supply bottlenecks have led to competition among buyers in some geographic regions. As a result, prices managed to remain strong, making June one of the busiest months on record.
Nick Leaning, chairman of Jackson Stops, said his company’s research showed around 40% of under-55s would consider moving in the next two years, while 41% of customers said stamp duty should be cut across the board. He added that he was thinking about it. , and a quarter wanted the government to completely remove duty on all homes under £500,000.
