Stamp Duty: Industry reacts positively to raising of threshold

The chancellor has delivered his summer statement, differing from a fiscal event in that there were no formal economic forecasts or details on duties and rates, but for once there was a decent slice of news for the property industry.

And, although it came as no surprise, the news that there will, in fact, be a ‘stamp duty holiday’, a raising of the threshold effective immediately, has been well received within the property industry.

Mark Hayward, Chief Executive, NAEA Propertymark said, “Following our engagement with HMT and MHCLG over the past few months, we welcome the Chancellor’s announcement this afternoon that he will be raising the threshold at which buyers will pay stamp duty to £500,000. This is a welcome commitment by the government and we are glad that they have listened to our calls to help sustain the property market following lockdown.

“These measures will enable people looking to buy a home to have the confidence and stability to be able to move forward with their purchase, which in turn will have a knock-on effect on the wider economy as people buy white goods and furniture. The market is moving well at the moment, however, once furlough has ceased and the anticipated recession hits, the market might well need further financial impetus, therefore it is right that the sector is given the support and tools it needs to rebound over the next 9 months.”

British property Federation added, “A temporary SDLT holiday will provide a welcome boost to the build-for-sale market, but other parts of the market equally need further support. To drive the delivery of new, high-quality rental homes, the Chancellor missed a trick today by not giving investors in the build-to-rent sector an exemption from the SDLT 3% surcharge.”

Lee Pickett, real estate partner at global legal business DWF said, “The Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) cut by the Chancellor is a nice boost for the housing market which is often considered the bedrock of the wider UK property market. Those not yet committed to a house purchase may be encouraged to follow through rather than withdraw (in many cases collapsing a chain of several transactions).

“In some cases where those who were minded to sit tight and consider whether to move within the housing ladder or convert from renting to home ownership, will now be encouraged to do it now because of the considerable savings available until March 2021.

“Where new build sales were incentivised by SDLT contributions, those costs which were effectively considered price reductions by mortgage lenders are now being met by the public purse which should give a boost to house builders and help stabilise or even improve values/ house prices.”

Kush Rawal, Director of Residential Investment from Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing said, “We welcome the Chancellor’s stamp duty holiday, which makes shared ownership homes an even more attractive option for people looking to own their own home.

“Removing stamp duty from almost all initial share purchases means that key workers will be able to buy a shared ownership home with as little as two months of rent as their deposit.”

Chris Lallemand, Mazars said, “The suspension of Stamp Duty for residential property up to £500,000 will help to spur transactions in the market, which fell to 50% of their normal levels over previous months. The property sector is already busy trying to assess demand for residential property, and it is likely that the disparity between demand and supply will determine whether it is the buyer or the seller who gets the benefit of the rate cut. It remains to be seen whether Wales and Scotland will follow suit for LTT and LBTT respectively.”

Alex Gibbs, Co-Founder and Director of Built Asset Management, said: “As a business deeply entrenched in the real estate market, we very much welcome today’s announcement regarding stamp duty.