Completion times and the Stamp Duty Holiday

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25 Feb Completion times and the Stamp Duty Holiday

We’ve spoken at length about how the Covid-19 pandemic has been affecting our and every other industry in the world for the best part of a year. As we approach the first anniversary of the first national lockdown, we take a look at how long, on average it takes to complete on a property transaction.

The property market is a busy place at the moment and with some important deadlines approaching quickly, now might be the best time to make your move; if you are looking to move in the near future make sure you get in touch with us on 01753 683000 or email us.

The average time to complete

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to dominate our lives, we are seeing delays across almost all individual stages of the transactional process. Before the virus hit, the national average time for an agreed sale to complete was around 90 days; we were always proud to fall under this number and were accustomed to helping our clients complete sooner than that number.

The new national average has seen this figure rise to 110-115 days. This means that somewhere in the UK there are people who agreed a sale in 2020 and still might not make it into their new homes before the end of the Stamp Duty Holiday. Not to brag, but since May 2020, we have had very few transactions which have exceeded the pre-Covid-19 national average time.

Why is it taking longer?

There are a number of reasons for delays to occur. As mentioned previously the property market is a busy place in which to operate at the moment. The Stamp Duty Holiday sparked a deluge of activity as people made big decisions about their living situations and looked to benefit from the huge savings available on.

Some delays will be down to sheer volume of transactions; there are many components and moving parts to a property transaction and, on occasion a bottle neck can occur slowing multiple processes.

With so many people using the tax break as a once in a lifetime opportunity to assess their living situation and the infectious nature of the virus, there is also a high chance that people working on the transaction, and indeed the buyers/vendors themselves contracting Covid-19 which can delay things further.

The Stamp Duty Holiday Deadline

In order to benefit from the Stamp Duty Holiday, your transaction must complete before 31st March 2021 (this is accurate at the time of writing (10/02/2021). With the lead times for completion edging the four-month mark, this means that a high number of transactions may miss the deadline.

This could mean that if a buyer is relying on the tax break in order to afford a property and the saving is removed from the transaction on dead line day, they will have to pull out of the deal. So, if an extension to the Stamp Duty Holiday isn’t put in place by the Government, we could end up seeing a great number of transactions fall through and chains collapsing.

Stamp Duty Holiday Extension

At the risk of getting peoples’ hopes up; the issue of the Stamp Duty Holiday Extension is due for debate in Parliament after a petition reached more that 100,000 signatures online. This doesn’t mean to say that there WILL be an extension, but it doesn’t rule one out and with unofficial news this week that they are looking to extend the holiday until the end of June it’s looking more positive.

We’re no strangers to a bit of Stamp Duty bashing and have made no secret of our dislike for this tax; removing it from transactions has stimulated the property market and has kept a great many people in jobs.

As far as we could see, the Government is/was limited to just a couple of possible options.

  • Simple Extension – If the Government extends the Holiday for 6-9 months this will keep people moving, buying, selling houses; we’ll remain busy and then when the deadline comes around, we’ll find ourselves in a similar situation to now.
  • Gradual Reintroduction – The Government could reduce the percentage of the Stamp Duty Tax in order to keep buying a new home an affordable and attractive proposition.

We will bring you further details when the budget is announced in March.

Get in Touch

Remember, as the leading independent letting agents in Colnbrook and the surrounding areas we are location experts and are always happy to help. So, if you are thinking of moving house or have seen a property on our website, contact us on 01753 683000 or email us. You can also follow us on FacebookLinkedIn and Instagram.