Time is running out – Act fast to avoid missing the stamp duty deadline

When Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced the Stamp Duty Holiday back in July it prompted a flurry of activity in the housing market.

Thousands of buyers who were perhaps putting off moving were suddenly stirred into action at the prospect of saving up to £15,000 on Stamp Duty when they move.

The Stamp Duty Holiday runs until 31 March 2021 and, whilst this feels like a long time, delays in the house buying process mean that many will run out of time unless they act soon.

There are currently 140,000 more people waiting to complete the process of buying a property than there were at this time last year.

This is one of the causes of the “Severe delays” and “large backlog” of transactions reported by property website Zoopla this week.

Mortgage applications are taking several weeks longer than usual to approve and solicitors are snowed under with the sheer volume of cases they are dealing with.

The situation will only get worse as the deadline approaches and we risk seeing a situation similar to the 2016 deadline for additional Stamp Duty on second homes which saw mortgage lenders working 24 hours a day to try and release funds in time for buyers to meet the deadline.

So if you’re thinking of moving and taking advantage of the Stamp Duty Holiday, speak to on of our advisers today to discuss your options.