The government's stamp duty holiday for homes over £500,000 has now ended, raising questions about the future of the 海角视频 property market.
Homebuyers scrambled to meet the extended deadline for the tax break, which was announced in the chancellor's March budget and drew to a close at midnight on June 30.
From July 1, homes in England and Northern Ireland costing £250,000 and below will still pay no tax, but the following stamp duty will need to be paid for properties over this threshold:
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- £250,001 to £925,000 - 5%
- £925,001 to £1.5m - 10%
- £1.5m and above - 12%
The stamp duty holiday in Wales ended in its entirety on June 30, while in Scotland it ended on March 31.
Mr Sunak introduced the measure in 2020 to stimulate Britain’s housing market which experienced a dip in activity during England’s first national lockdown.
The idea was to incentivise potential home buyers by increasing the threshold at which stamp duty is charged on homes.
But now the deadline has ended, what does this mean for the property market?
Research from Nationwide found the cost of 海角视频 homes rose 13.4% in the year to June - the quickest pace since November 2004. It said the average house price increased from £216,403 in June 2020 to £245,432 in the same month this year.
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Jerome Lartaud, a property finder and buying agent based in Bristol but covering London and the West Country, believes the stamp duty holiday was "unnecessary" and has created a "false economy".
He said: "It should not have been extended. Some 1.3 million buyers are expected to have benefited by £15,000 but the average home is now £25,000 more expensive."
Mr Lartaud believes the property market is likely to "soften" when the tax holiday ends permanently on October 1, but says current demand is continuing to push up house prices.
He told BusinessLive he was involved in the sale of a Cotswolds farm house, which was put on the market for £1.9m, had 35 interested buyers, and was snapped up by a cash buyer for £3.1m.
"I think Covid has changed people’s outlook. They realise they don’t have to work from an office in London and are relocating to the South East and South West because they can commute and have the lifestyle they want.
"People realise they can get a lot more outside space for their money in the West Country than they can in London. Property prices will continue to rise while there is low stock and high demand.
"September will be a tipping point. The furlough scheme will begin to wind down and we will see rises in tax from the government. But there will be some areas of the country, such as the South West, that will remain in a bubble because of demand."
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His advice to would-be house buyers is to wait and see what happens. He added: "If you're not in a rush to sell, I would wait and see what happens in the autumn."
Wesley Davidson, director of property finance consultancy Fox Davidson, does not believe the property market will slow in the West of England.
He said: "With the shortage of housing, low mortgage rates and mortgages available with just a 5% deposit, it won't end.
"Bristol and the South West is very affordable for people moving across from London. The switch from office to home working will continue to see people buying up property in [the region]."
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Richard Vickery, regional director for the South West at online estate agents Yopa, told BusinessLive earlier this year his company had experienced “huge volumes” of buyers coming on to the market since January.
"Even when the stamp duty holiday does eventually end, the other drivers of the market will still be in place,” he said at the time.
“Many people will be reassessing their needs and priorities as the pandemic finally recedes, and moving house will be easier when we are out of lockdown.
“After a short pause around the end of the stamp duty holiday, I expect the market to return to a high level of activity with further price rises in the South West, especially for the larger family homes in less urban areas that are now in high demand."
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