Sunak is debating a limited extension through to mid-May in order to prevent homebuyers getting caught in a “completion trap”.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Sunak said: “A lot of people would be caught in the completion trap if the holiday were to end when it is due to.”
Miles Robinson, head of mortgages at Trussle, said: “The news that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, is considering a six-week extension to the stamp duty holiday offers a glimmer of hope to buyers racing to beat the current deadline of 31 March.”
As a result of the holiday, Trussle outlined that it has seen a 63% increase in mortgage applications in December and a 15% increase in January year-on-year.
Robinson said: “However, the surge in demand has triggered long delays in the processing of transactions.
“It currently takes 134 days to complete on a property in the UK and it’s been reported that one in five buyers are facing more than a six-month wait for completion.”
Therefore, Robinson believes that a potential six-week extension could prove invaluable to the estimated 100,000 property purchases currently underway.
He added: “As the wider economy continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, we’d urge the government to consider granting a longer extension or adopting a tapered approach to ending the stamp duty holiday.”
