One million households saved £6.1bn when they moved home during the stamp duty holiday, according to Rightmove.
The data from the online estate agent comes after the 15-month tax relief in England and Northern Ireland ended yesterday, after being introduced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak last July to revive an industry that had stalled due to lockdown restrictions.
The firm adds that despite the end of the relief the mortgage market is in a strong position with buyer demand in England 43% higher than in September 2019.
The initial holiday meant home buyers didn’t have to pay stamp duty on the first £500,000 of purchase, falling to the first £250,000 from 1 July.
However, the nil-payment threshold will return to the pre-pandemic level of £125,000 from 1 October.
Rightmove property expert Tim Bannister says: “Around a million households made tax savings since last July, which provided some people with an added incentive to move, especially in the higher price brackets.
“We’re still seeing much higher levels of demand for homes than in 2019 so it’s clear there have been a number of other reasons for making this summer the time to move to a new home.
“There are still savings to be had for first-time buyers, so this hasn’t signalled the end of savings altogether and we’re expecting the market to stay busy for the rest of the year and into next year.”
However, house selling chain pressures that were there before the stamp duty holiday will still be there now the relief has ended, says HBB solutions.
The chain repair and part exchange firm says: “The general consensus is that prices won’t be anywhere close to collapsing after the holiday ends due to the ongoing and endemic imbalance of supply and demand in most areas.
“The consensus is also that the rate of price growth will slow from unsustainable highs.”
The average property took 320 days to sell between January and June, a 16-day increase compared to the 304 days taken during the latter half of 2020, according to comparison website GetAgent.co.uk.
HBB Solutions says that agents should consider partnering with a chain repair specialist to help keep transactions “on the straight and narrow when the holiday ends – and speed up stalling transactions if necessary”.
It adds that house part exchange, which provides funding for customers who can’t afford a new purchase until their current property sells, can also speed up transactions.
HBB Solutions managing director Chris Hodgkinson says: “With the current issues surrounding supply shortages and the fuel crisis, and the ongoing challenges surrounding Covid and Brexit, there is no knowing for sure how the market will cope as we enter a potentially tough winter without the stamp duty holiday.”
“Even if there is no major dip, as seems highly likely given the current fundamentals of the market, it still makes sense on many levels for agents to have a plan B, C or even D to help generate new business and revenue, as well as making themselves more resistant to potential future bumps in the road.”
