Stamp duty changes lead to rise in mortgage enquiries

July 26, 2020 by Brendan O'Neill

Mortgage Advisors

The decision to raise the stamp duty threshold on property sales, which Rishi Sunak announced this month, has had an immediate impact, with mortgage enquiries already increasing.

Advisors are indicating that the response to the raising of the threshold, which was confirmed on 8th July, was instantaneous. Rachel Dixon, who works at RH Dixon as an advisor, stated that she dealt with more than 17 enquiries about products inside 24 hours of the changes taking effect. She went on to add that the volume of enquiries received in that period was the highest she had ever experienced in one day.

She concluded by saying that the majority of enquiries had come from property owners who wanted to take advantage of the stamp duty savings available. This news will be welcomed by the government, which has raised the threshold to £500,000 as a temporary measure, because the main purpose was to get the property market moving again following the lockdown.

LDNfinance director Anthony Rose is another who has seen mortgage enquiries rise rapidly in the wake of the announcement, and he is forecasting that landlords will be eager to make use of the situation. He added that the raising of the threshold above which stamp duty must be paid was allowing many to buy and sell properties when they were unable to do so before.

The immediate impact of the stamp duty changes is excellent news for the industry and makes it a good time to pursue a CeMAP mortgage advisor qualification.