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Head of residential property and all-round #property guru Bradley Bernett talks all things SDLT and what to expect in the next few days…if anything!

We have seen a flurry of media outlets quick off the mark to predict that Rishi Sunak is preparing to extend the Stamp Duty holiday by possibly a further three months until the end of June.

This extension is aimed to keep the property market strong as we as a nation return to “normal” from the #Covid19 pandemic, and this could be a great way to start the return. Millions of people have had to shield, and under some Government backed schemes for reasons outside of their control have not been able to take advantage of the current #Stampduty incentive scheme.

July last year amidst #Covid19 (a lifetime ago) the Government made the bold statement by introducing a #stampdutyholiday for all home buyers and set out that all that was needed to qualify was to complete before the golden date of March 31st 2021, which would result in a saving of up to £15,000 when purchasing a residential property.

Prospective buyers far and wide with the ability, time and resources flooded the property market with offers. The surge in new property transactions was a great way to keep the property market moving during a time when everything else has been at a seeming stand still.

Over recent months the government has come under pressure to extend the deadline to prevent the property market “falling off a cliff edge”, and moreover to keep the property market going and avoid it become stagnant; a usual precursor to crash in the market.

Conveyancers speculate if the deadline comes and goes without an extension, for transactions that failed to complete in time there are likely to be, price negotiations or deals falling through. According to online data there are currently some 150,000 transactions mid progress aiming to take advantage of the reduced stamp duty.

Whilst an extension would be a welcome change to anyone currently buying or selling a property and struggling to meet the deadline, this may very well cause a further surge in new instructions resulting in further pressure in a few months time with yet another bottleneck of planned completions.

The deciding factors of the extension along with the nuisances of how it will work in practice are yet to unfold, but you can count on us to be front of the queue to make sure we are working to protect all our clients’ interests and where possible, meet expectations of timelines for transactions.

For more information please keep your eyes peeled for our update on Wednesday night after the budget has been announced

For any more information regarding stamp duty, moving home or general property questions please don’t hesitate to contact a member of the residential property #dreamteam.