Stamp duty cuts make it the perfect time to move

It’s been a monumental week for the property market, with the Government’s decision to drastically cut stamp duty. This is good news for our customers giving them the extra confidence needed to take the exciting step of owning a Platinum Skies home.

With the property market reinvigorated after the recent months of lockdown, there’s never been a better or more affordable time to explore our part-exchange and shared ownership options. You can now also visit our beautiful locations for a safe visit and experience the Platinum Skies lifestyle first-hand.

Nearly nine in 10 people getting on or moving up the property ladder where stamp duty applies will not need to pay the tax at all while a temporary holiday applies.

From July 15 until March 31 2021, buyers will pay no stamp duty on the first £500,000 of their purchase when they move home.

The measure, which temporarily increases the “nil rate” band of stamp duty from £125,000 to £500,000, will reduce the average stamp duty bill for a main home from £4,500 to zero. Buyers can potentially save up to £15,000.

Property experts said the step could encourage some “missing movers” back to the market.

Announcing the move, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “Nearly nine out of 10 people buying a main home this year will pay no stamp duty at all.”

Stamp duty applies in England and Northern Ireland and people usually pay the tax on homes priced above £125,000. Some stamp duty discounts were already in place for first-time buyers.

There are already signs that the stamp duty holiday is helping to reboot the property market.

In the first half hour after the announcement was made on Wednesday, traffic to property website Rightmove jumped by 22%.

The previous day, as speculation mounted about the announcement, Rightmove had a record 7.7 million visits.

Rightmove’s property expert Miles Shipside said: “Lockdown prevented 175,000 would-be sellers from coming to market so we hope this stamp duty holiday will provide the spur for those missing movers to come to market.

“They will find there’s currently record demand for their properties from prospective buyers, with Rightmove inquiries to agents now double what they were before lockdown.

“Home movers will be grateful that the changes come into effect straight away so they don’t have to delay their plans, and what we could see now is people rushing to get a price agreed before some sellers put their prices up in the hope people will be able to pay more because of the tax savings.”

Mark Hayward, chief executive, NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents) Propertymark, said: “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.”

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