Almost 70 per cent of homebuyers want to see the stamp duty holiday extended while just under half worry they will miss the current deadline.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s policy of suspending of stamp duty on the first £500,000 of all property sales in England and Northern Ireland has helped boost the housing market, but winds up at the end of March.
However, 67 per cent of homebuyers want to see this holiday extended as they hurry to complete transactions, according to a survey by high-net-worth mortgage broker Enness Global.
The report adds that 48 per cent of homebuyers are worried that their sale won’t complete before the 31 March deadline, leaving buyers liable to pay stamp duty on properties under half a million pounds.
The broker said: “It’s clear that since the introduction of the stamp duty holiday last year, the housing market has exploded into life with mortgage approvals, transactions and house prices all increasing notably.”
UK mortgage approvals remained at their highest level in 13 years, according to Bank of England figures last week.
The number of mortgages approved by banks and building societies for home purchases rose to 105,000 in November – the highest figure since August 2007.
While the stamp duty cut has helped stimulate demand, there are concerns, from some estate agents and lenders, that its sudden removal it could lead to a collapse in house prices in the Spring.
However, Enness Global said that while the current stamp duty holiday has stimulated demand, it is not solely responsible for market growth.
Its survey found that just 25 per cent of homebuyers stated it was the driving motivation behind their decision to buy a home, with 71 per cent buying for other reasons that were unstated in the report.
However, Enness Global Mortgages managing director Hugh Wade-Jones said the stamp duty holiday was still an important factor for homebuyers.
Wade-Jones said: “For many homebuyers it has been an added bonus rather than the driving factor behind their intent to purchase, with just 25 per cent of buyers entering the market due to the stamp duty holiday itself. This is still quite considerable when you consider there are around one million transactions completed a year and so a 25 per cent boost translates to hundreds of thousands of additional sales.”
He added: “With the clock ticking, those yet to complete due to current market delays will be forgiven if an air of panic is starting to set in, having had an offer accepted well in advance of the deadline.
“Perhaps a fair alternative to an extension would be to allow those who have an offer formally accepted prior to the end of March to also qualify for stamp duty relief.”
The survey of 1,001 recent homebuyers was carried out by Find Out How on 7 January.
