600k buyers to save £2.8bn via stamp duty extension – study

Over half a million transactions will save due to the stamp duty holiday extension by the time it ends in September this year.

The latest market insight by national estate agent Keller Williams has looked at how many additional homebuyers will now benefit as a result of a double stamp duty extension saving.

The original holiday - £1.9 billion saved

According to the research, some 341,815 transactions are estimated to benefit from the stamp duty holiday by the end of the month.

With the £500,000 threshold in place, an estimated 85% of all transactions will pay no stamp duty at all (289,013) and homebuyers at all price thresholds of the market will save a combined £1,901,636,265.

The extension - £648 million saved

The government confirmed they would keep the SDLT holiday in place with no stamp duty payable on the first £500,000 of any transaction.

This means an estimated 116,449 additional property transactions will benefit from this initial extension, saving a total of £648.1 million more in stamp duty and resulting in a further 98,500 homebuyers paying no stamp duty whatsoever.

The ‘soft landing’ - £206 million saved

As well as the initial SDLT extension until June 30 2021, there is an additional extension until September 30 2021, with a reduced stamp duty-free threshold of £250,000.

Keller Williams says that this soft landing alone will see a further 117,779 transactions benefit, with as many as 56,287 more homebuyers paying no stamp duty and the market saving a total of £206.4 million in the process.

The total impact - £2.8 billion saved

Keller Williams estimates that well over half a million transactions will save due to the holiday (576,093) by the time it ends in September of this year, 77% of which will pay no stamp duty on their purchase, with homebuyers in England saving a massive £2.8 billion overall.

Ben Taylor, chief executive officer of Keller Williams, comments: “You need only look at the market data already available to see the huge benefit that the stamp duty holiday has brought, both in terms of the total money saved and the large proportion of the market that has paid no stamp duty on their purchase at all.” 

“Based on current market trends, this impact is set to grow substantially with the double extension of the scheme, and even at a reduced threshold of £250,000, around half of those completing will still have no stamp duty bill to pay when they do.”

He concludes: “This extended incentive to transact will ensure buyer demand remains healthy and house price growth remains strong over the spring and summer months.”