A record number of potential home buyers and sellers rushed to Rightmove's website on Wednesday as Rishi Sunak confirmed an eight-month stamp duty “holiday”.
The surge in enquiries spiked within half an hour of the Chancellor’s announcement to Parliament, in which he confirmed that the level at which home buyers will start paying stamp duty would be immediately raised from £125,000 to £500,000 until March 31 next year, rather than be delayed until the autumn as some early commentators had expected.
It is hoped the measure will encourage prospective buyers who might otherwise delay a move until next year amid ongoing uncertainty in the property market.
Visits to Rightmove skyrocketed on what will go down on record as the busiest day in the property portal's 20-year history, with an influx of 8.5 million would-be movers flooding the site in a bid to find a new home before the temporary tax break ends.
Rightmove’s property expert Miles Shipside said: “Lockdown prevented 175,000 would-be sellers from coming to market so we hope this stamp duty holiday will provide the spur for those missing movers to come to market. They will find there’s currently record demand for their properties from prospective buyers, with Rightmove enquiries to agents now double what they were before lockdown."
The country's largest estate agents are also reporting a surge in interest, following record demand from buyers over the past few weeks.
Rightmove said the number of people phoning and emailing estate agents about property for sale also hit a new record on Wednesday, and was up by 93 per cent on the same day in 2019. Requests from potential sellers to have their home valued hit a record high.
With 100 offices nationwide, including 60 in London, estate agent Winkworth saw unprecedented levels of interest in its online property listings on the day of Mr Sunak’s summer mini-Budget.
Dominic Agace, chief executive of Winkworth, said: “Our offices are reporting a significant uplift in interest, in addition to the high levels of activity we have seen since [lockdown] restrictions were eased, from first-time buyers, movers and investors. We already had a lot of pent-up demand due to the uncertainty of the past couple of years, followed by Covid. This is the impetus many people have needed to make the move for the next stage of their lives.”
In London, Savills said applications from motivated home movers are up by 136 per cent on this time last year, while viewings are up by 94 per cent, even with new coronavirus social distancing and safety procedures in place.
Where London buyers could cash in most
Buyers in the capital, where the average asking price is £628,284, stand to make the biggest stamp duty saving, with a discount of £15,000 now on offer to anyone purchasing a home priced above £500,000.
Those in London who already own a property and are looking to move will benefit most, as first-time buyers face having to stump up a deposit of at least 20 per cent while mortgage lenders restrict loans above 80 per cent of the purchase price.
The biggest savings in the capital will be found in areas with average asking prices between £450,000 and £500,000, according to Rightmove data.
In Orpington, in the borough of Bromley, buyers stand to save an average of £14,893 during the stamp duty holiday, as the average cost of purchasing a home in the popular commuter hub is £497,582.
Buyers in Burnt Oak, in the north London borough of Barnet, will benefit from a similar saving, along with those moving to Chingford, Sydenham and Walthamstow.
“Home movers will be grateful that the changes come into effect straight away so they don’t have to delay their plans. And what we could see now is people rushing to get a price agreed before some sellers put their prices up in the hope people will be able to pay more because of the tax savings,” adds Rightmove’s Miles Shipside.
https://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/stamp-duty-holiday-rightmove-record-traffic-a139286.html