New data from online mortgage broker Trussle shows where in the UK house hunters can still begin a property purchase and make the stamp duty deadline.
These areas include West Midlands, South West and North East.
The median number of days from starting a mortgage application to completing a property purchase is around 115 days.
This means that the 6 December 2020 marks 115 days before the stamp duty holiday deadline.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been significant delays to mortgage applications and the average time from mortgage submission to approval has increased by 50% since this time last year (from 16 days to 24 days).
The data by Trussle also shows that average time from application to completion differs by property type depending on detached, semi-detached, terraced or flat.
Currently they are faster in Scotland and the South East and slower in the East Midlands and East of England.
According to the data, flats take an average of 120 days to complete whilst semi-detached properties take 108 days on average.
Trussle has also identified the top five fastest lenders in the UK based on its data, finding that on average lenders take around 20 days to approve new mortgage submissions.
These lenders were Barclays (10 days), Halifax (14.5 days), BM Solutions (17 days), Coventry Building Society (18 days) and HSBC (19 days).
The time to approve mortgages has increased significantly since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The average was closer to 10 days in 2019 and up until June 2020.
Miles Robinson, head of mortgages at Trussle, said: “The stamp duty holiday deadline is looming, which is understandably causing concern.
“There are delays across the market and we are urging buyers not to delay their mortgage application if they want to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday before the holiday ends on the 31 March next year.
“We hope that this guidance provides helpful timelines for those in different regions across the UK.
“We must also advise that those looking to buy a new home should make sure they budget enough to pay the stamp duty land tax, just in case the purchase does not complete before the deadline.
“If a buyer were to pull out after they’ve already exchanged, sellers may be in a position to sue for consequential loss at this point, and buyers may lose their deposits.
“This is going to cause a lot of stress and uncertainty for customers over the coming months, and we’re urging all buyers to take the necessary preparations.”
