The Coronavirus pandemic has seen a record number of buyers wanting to move home. The average price of a house in Britain has risen to an all new high.
There is no doubt that the property market was given a large boost by the Stamp Duty holiday, but the market remains buoyant now.
Figures from HMRC show that June was the busiest month on record for sales, with buyers rushing to complete before stamp duty rules change in parts of the United Kingdom. The number of homes changing hands in the UK rose to the highest level on record in June, with 213,120 sales registered with HMRC.
This is the busiest month since records of sales began in April 2005.
In England, the main Stamp Duty holiday ended on 30th June 2021, however until 30th September 2021 those buying property under £250,000.00 can still benefit from not paying any SDLT (subject to other conditions). Wales ended its temporary tax break entirely, while Scotland’s had finished at the end of March.
Rightmove, which lists properties of 90% of estate agents, said the first six months of the year had been the busiest it had recorded since 2000, pushing up the average price of homes coming on to the market in England, Wales and Scotland to £338,447 – an increase of £21,389, or 6.7%, since the beginning of 2021.
There are very few available properties on the market, with one Estate Agent I spoke to advising that as fast as the properties are coming on the market they are selling and that she was struggling to keep a stock of properties for sale.
If you would like a free consultation or to discuss how Exclusive Legal can assist you in your conveyancing needs, please contact us via the website or call us directly.
Mortgage rates are at record lows, with the UK’s largest building society, Nationwide, today launching the first sub-1% five-year fixed-rate deal, and there still appear to be buyers looking to move to larger homes.