Exciting news for the stamp duty holiday?
There are whispers this morning that Chancellor Rishi Sunak will extend the stamp duty holiday deadline until the end of June. This three-month extension will delight numerous parties who are going through the purchasing process at this current time.
The chancellor has been urged to push back the deadline amid a heated campaign by property professionals and economists who argue that many people have been left scrambling to complete their transactions before the end date.
Although not confirmed, the lead story in The Times this morning says the extension will be announced in the Budget on Wednesday of next week. The article is written by the newspaper’s well-connected political editor Steven Swinford.
What remains unclear is whether the extension is three months for all current and new buyers of properties up to £500,000 – thus just delaying the cliff edge - or a 'tapered' extension only for current buyers.
The extension is precisely the same length advocated by the Building Societies Association.
The BSA says that with the March 31st cliff edge deadline fast approaching many buyers and sellers, who have already agreed sales and have mortgages approved would be unlikely to complete the transaction within the deadline.
The BSA believes that a tapered end would allow any house purchase where the mortgage approval has been granted by the end of March, an additional three months to complete while still benefiting from the rate reduction. In addition to supporting homebuyers who are likely to have budgeted based on the stamp duty saving, a taper of that length would also ensure that lenders and conveyancers could manage operational pressures in a Covid-secure way. This seems like a sensible way to end the holiday, rather than the abrupt cut off on the 31st March as it stands.
Obviously, this is still just speculation but it is looking increasingly like the stamp duty holiday will be extended in some capacity and this can only be beneficial for the short-term market. What remains for the long term market is anyone’s guess but we do see this as a positive move by the Chancellor should it come to fruition.
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