Buyers seeking a new home are being encouraged to start their search by 1 November to be sure of saving thousands of pounds under the Stamp Duty holiday.

The Stamp Duty threshold is currently £500,000 for property sales in England and Northern Ireland, until 31 March 2021. Buyers completing on a main residence costing up to that amount before then will not pay any Stamp Duty, and more expensive properties will only be taxed on their value above the threshold.

Research by Legal & General Mortgage Club, which surveyed housing market advisers, conveyancers and estate agents, suggests homebuyers need to act fast to take advantage of the temporary benefit, however.

It found the average purchase from finding a property to completion is taking at least 15 weeks, four months, as processing times for applications have doubled due to high levels of demand.

Even without a second lockdown, homeowners should avoid delaying beyond November 1st to use the stamp duty holiday.

Since the re-opening of the mortgage market, around a third of advisers have found a mortgage application for a client with straightforward circumstances is taking three to four weeks, and a further 32 per cent say it is taking four to eight weeks.

Before the pandemic, for most buyers (61 per cent) in simple cases this process took less than two weeks to get to a mortgage offer.

In a third of cases those with more complex backgrounds, such as those with impaired credit histories or who have been on furlough, need to allow up to six to eight weeks to get approved for a mortgage.

Legal & General Mortgage Club director Kevin Roberts says: “Those wishing to take advantage of the ‘holiday’ will need to plan carefully to avoid missing the March 2021 deadline, particularly if they have their own property to sell first.”

Other parts of the housing sector are also reporting delays as they try to manage demand and the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on their businesses.

Conveyancers reported the time between offer and exchange is now taking three weeks, while the period between exchange and completion stands at one to two weeks.

Estate agents also indicated the average time between receiving an offer on a property and completion has increased by some eight weeks.

Roberts adds that policy makers need to consider if a tapering of the stamp duty deadline is needed instead of a hard deadline.

“We need to avoid those moving or purchasing a home missing out through delays after 31 March when the holiday ends,” he says.