With less than 90 days until the stamp dutyholiday deadline
ends, there are growing calls for an extension beyond 31 March after England
entered a new nationwide lockdown and Loveitts supports this movement with over
50,000 signatures now put forward to the on line petition being lodged to the
government.
With the country now facing further lockdown measures until
March at the earliest, there are warnings the country faces a “race against
time” amid surging coronavirus cases and hospital admissions.
This means that while people can still move home and
complete on housing transactions, subject to strict Covid safety measures,
there are likely to be further backlogs and delays in the property buying
process, which in turn means many purchasers will almost certainly miss the
stamp duty holiday deadline at the end of March.
Calls for the holiday to be extended by up to six months
were already being made at the end of last year as agents, surveyors and
solicitors lobbied the government.
A letter was sent to the government with the backing of
several industries bodies and major players in the industry citing the reasons
why the extension would benefit the industry, the economy and most importantly
people in the process of purchasing a property.
But the government has so far rejected calls to extend the
temporary relief offered to property buyers via the stamp duty holiday.
However Sales Director Paul Barnes believes extending the
Stamp Duty Holiday is needed: “Though
the property market remains technically open, there will now be considerably
more logistical issues for the simple reason that a lot of people will be
working from home.
Lenders, valuers and conveyancers are already experiencing
bottlenecks and delays given the sheer amount of applications going through.
This administrative upheaval caused by the latest lockdown will only serve to
accentuate them and therefore delay things.
We are still witnessing a real appetite from potential
buyers to purchase homes and by extending this deadline it will continue to
support the economy during these unprecedented times.”
The stamp duty holiday means homebuyers across England pay
no stamp duty when purchasing homes up to a value of £500,000, with a reduced
rate for homes above that. For someone buying a £500,000 property, the saving
is worth £15,000.
To sell your home through Loveitts please do not hesitate to
contact us.