Two-thirds – or 66% – of brokers would be in favour of the stamp duty holiday being extended beyond 30 June, shows a survey carried out by Twenty7Tec.
The firm asked 14,000 brokers if they would take a three month extension, with almost 50% replying ‘absolutely’.
Arguments for extending the deadline included to relieve pressure on solicitors and to keep the market buoyant. Some brokers are keen for the stamp duty to be removed altogether and forever for houses valued below a certain threshold.
Those who were against the holiday being lengthened cited a desire for the market to stabilise, with lenders “getting back to normal” and alarm over recent house price inflation.
“The stamp duty holiday has been great to stimulate the housing market again but has also caused chaos with local searches taking months to come back and solicitors unable to cope with business levels,” said one survey participant.
Twenty7Tec head of intermediaries Niki Cooke says: “I’ve spoken to leaders at brokers and intermediaries over recent days on this topic. Beyond the headline statistics, there’s a real split in brokers’ opinion about whether to extend and why.
“Was the tax relief programme a success? It definitely kept the market moving in challenging circumstances. But brokers are now asking the biggest of questions: ‘Should we have stamp duty tax at all for average priced houses?’ and ‘How do we make sure that we treat people fairly who would otherwise miss the 30 June deadline?’ Those are the challenges for the chancellor over coming days.”
Twenty7Tec chief executive James Tucker adds: “As of 1 July, the £250,000 to £500,000 relief disappears, and we believe that this will have some effect on the market.
“Looking at our figures, the proportion of ESIS mortgage documents that are produced for buy to let mortgages under £250k is higher than it is in the £250,000 to £500,000 bracket. Therefore, the relief which remains available is more likely to be of interest to landlords, first-time buyers and properties outside the South East.”
