Sun Setting on the Stamp Duty Holiday
- The Stamp Duty Holiday has benefitted the local property market.
- Over 1,600 sales through ESPC solicitor estate agents have been completed under the £175,000 stamp duty threshold.
- Buyers have saved nearly £2.5 million.
- An extension of the Stamp Duty holiday could benefit tax revenue more than it costs.
Since the 2nd September 2008, the introduction of the Stamp Duty holiday has resulted in a saving for many home buyers across East Central Scotland. The introduction of this tax break has benefitted 1,600 property purchases and has resulted in a saving of nearly £2.5 million.
Commenting on these figures, Malcolm Cannon (Chief Executive of ESPC) said, “There was a degree of skepticism in the market when the Stamp Duty holiday was introduced. Would this saving provide a kick start to the property market again?
It is clear that activity levels have improved during the course of 2009. We have seen an increase in the number of properties selling, the time taken to sell has dropped and sellers are increasingly achieving their asking price.
The feedback from our members is that this improvement is down to a number of factors that include the stamp duty holiday”.
With the Stamp Duty Holiday coming to an end on the 1st January, this means that anyone wishing to still take advantage of the tax break needs to act quickly and have the purchase of their new property completed before the new year.
Explaining the impact of the deadline further, Malcolm Cannon added, “The purchase of the property for under £175,000 needs to be signed, sealed and completed before the end of the stamp duty holiday. Just signing missives is not enough.
In terms of supporting the property market in 2010, we would welcome an extension of the Stamp Duty holiday. While we are perfectly aware of the Government’s need to generate income, there needs to be consideration of how the property market works. Each sale potentially results in a new buyer as someone moves up or down the property ladder. The financial benefit for those buying at less than £175,000 does spread across the market as one sale triggers others further along the property ladder.
In considering the cost of the stamp duty holiday attention also needs to be paid to the revenue that a sale at under £175,000 creates when the seller of the property buys a property over that threshold and subsequent sales are triggered”.
26 November 2009