How did the stamp duty holiday affect the UK’s property market?

Although the headline reduction in stamp duty in the UK’s residential property market ended in June, the reduction didn’t just disappear overnight. There was a gradual increase in stamp duty, back to its pre-pandemic levels, with the previous level of the tax coming back into effect on 1 October 2021.

When the tax break was in full force earlier this year, homebuyers could save up to £15,000 on their property purchases, an article for Home Building pointed out. As we’re sure you know, and as we were well aware here at Removals Unlimited, this meant many more people took the plunge and moved home in the first half of 2021.

If you were looking for a bespoke, reliable and experienced removals company in the south west earlier in the year, you’ll know how far in advance you needed to book our services to be sure of getting the assistance you required with your move.

But it wasn’t just estate agents and removals firms who benefited from the stamp duty holiday. As the Home Building article noted, it also encouraged those who were considering renovating a home to push on with the building work and in doing so it resulted in more work for many in the building trades.

Research carried out by the London School of Economics (LSE) suggested that removing stamp duty altogether should be considered by the government because of the many positive outcomes this would have in terms of encouraging older people with larger homes to downsize, and enabling the UK’s housing stock to be used more efficiently.

The LSE research also highlighted just what the stamp duty holiday did for property transactions. In December 2020, transaction levels were 30% higher than December 2019, and in February 2021 they were 50% higher than the same month a year earlier, just before the pandemic hit.

It also suggested that the stamp duty holiday may have acted as a catalyst to encourage more people to move, a trend which is continuing even though the reduction has been scaled back and, as of 30 September, ended completely.

Even without the added pressure of trying to complete your home move before the stamp duty holiday came to an end, moving can still be stressful.

Our team of trained professional movers is always on hand to make your move as stress-free as possible. We pack, move and store, so you can rest assured that we can take care of every element of your move.

We use full house protection kits to ensure that not only your belongings but also your property are taken care of and if you opt for our full packing service we will take care of packing all your possessions and furniture, as well as transporting them from your old home to your new one on moving day.

Although the stamp duty holiday has ended, there doesn’t seem to be much sign of the housing market in the UK slowing down. If you’re in the process of planning your move, make sure you contact us in good time to enable us to carry out a free, no-obligation house survey and provide you with a comprehensive quote for your move.