New Research from Guild of Property Professionals Shows A Third Could Pull Deals If They Have To Pay Stamp Duty

• 31% OF BUYERS WILL VERY LIKELY PULL THE PLUG ON HOME MOVES IF THEY HAVE TO PAY STAMP DUTY IN 2021
• THIRD SAY IF THEY HAD TO PAY STAMP DUTY IT WOULD HAVE A BIG FINANCIAL IMPACT ON THEM
• EIGHT IN 10 WANT THE GOVERNMENT TO EXTEND THE HOLIDAY
• EXPERTS WARN THAT DEALS FROM JANUARY MIGHT COMPLETE AFTER THE HOLIDAY DEADLINE DUE TO DELAYS IN THE PROCESSING

The rush to move before the end of the Stamp Duty Holiday is well and truly on, with the recent Rightmove House Price Index[1] showing there are a mammoth 613,000 sold properties still awaiting legal completion, and with the average house move taking a whopping FOUR months to complete, 100,000 properties could be subject to an unexpected stamp duty tax.

New research from The Guild of Property Professionals found that around a third (31%) of Brits hoping to buy this year, said they would pull their deal all together if this is the case, with a further 43% admitting they would likely do the same.

The current threshold for stamp duty is set at £500,000 and the average house price in the UK is £244,513[2] meaning many would be set to save in stamp duty.

Although, under current plans, from April 2021 the threshold will return to £125,000, leaving those who thought they would benefit from the stamp duty holiday having to find extra cash to complete the move, even if they started the process in January.

Over a third (38%) said that stamp duty had a big financial impact on the amount they paid, while a further 46% said it had a medium impact on their finances.

The research also found the average value of the property people had bought or were going to buy was £232,500, meaning the average house buyer would face a stamp duty bill of £2,150[3].

Although for some looking to move, stamp duty is still something of a mystery, with 48% saying they ‘somewhat’ know what it means, whilst one in 10 had no idea.

A third of those looking to move in the next 12 months said the stamp duty holiday would make them move quicker, although due to the delays in processing this will likely mean they would miss out on the stamp duty holiday. Eight in 10 say the government should extend the holiday.

Joining us on Tuesday 2nd February to discuss the research and their calls for the Government to extend the holiday deadline by six months, is Iain McKenzie, CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals.