Chancellor Rishi Sunak is believed to be contemplating an extension to the current raised stamp duty threshold on property transactions of up to six weeks.
An article published in the Daily Telegraph quoted sources close to the Treasury as saying the Chancellor is seriously looking at keeping the stamp duty threshold at its current higher level up until the middle of May. At the moment, the threshold is due to return to its normal level at the end of March, but the government is said to be concerned that this would leave many people unable to get transactions completed in time.
There is clear backing for this within parliament, with MPs from all parties indicating in a recent debate on the issue that they favoured the stamp duty holiday being either extended or tapered off gradually.
It would also be warmly welcomed by the housing and mortgage sectors, with the Head of Mortgages for Trussle, Miles Robinson, telling Financial Reporter that it would be a real boon for those looking to buy a home, and he pointed to the extraordinary levels of demand it has created within both sectors. He then went on to add:
“At Trussle, we saw a 63% increase in mortgage applications in December and a 15% increase in January, when comparing the same periods year-on-year.”
If the government goes ahead with this, it will give mortgage advisors time to use their CeMAP knowledge to the full in finding the right loans for their clients.
