- Number of quarterly residential property transactions worth £1m or more liable for SDLT reaches record level of 8,300 in Q1 20211
- Number of quarterly residential property transactions worth £1m or more liable for SDLT climbs 9% over the last quarter, up from 7,600 in Q4 20201
Andy Sommerville, Director at Search Acumen, says:
“This latest data shows that the owners and buyers of prime and super-prime properties are driving a large proportion of activity in the property market.
“The sharp rise in the volume of property transactions worth £1m or more that are liable to pay Stamp Duty could be partly attributed to owners of high value properties in cities selling up and purchasing homes in rural locations. The rapid integration of remote working practices has reduced workers’ need to live close to physical offices as they can now perform the bulk of their duties anywhere, prompting them to seek out larger homes with access to green space.
“The rush to capture the financial benefits on offer before the end of the initial Stamp Duty holiday on 31 March is likely to have triggered a surge in higher transaction volumes at each price band in Q1 2021. However, the extension is unlikely to stimulate the property market to the same extent that the initial holiday has given the rush of buyers in the first wave.
“Despite this, conveyancers have been working around the clock to clear the backlog of transactions caused by the Stamp Duty holiday. We are at a tipping point where we can either continue the way things are – to the detriment of lawyers’ wellbeing and the speed of transactions – or we can embrace digital once and for all. By adapting to new ways of working and taking advantage of the property data at the outset of the transaction process, we can create a property sector that is efficient, productive and robust.”
This article was submitted to be published by Search Acumen as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
