The housing market ‘mini-boom’ that may have been built on sand

Rishi Sunak’s cut in stamp duty prompted talk of a “mini-boom” in house sales. The good news is that the data released since then is playing to that script; the bad news is that industry experts are increasingly concerned about the outlook for the economy and what that could mean for the housing market. On July 8 the chancellor said that the threshold for stamp duty had been lifted from £125,000 to £500,000 until the end of March 2021. Thus not only do buyers pay no tax on purchases below £500,000, they also get a £15,000 discount on their payment on purchases above £500,000. The change had an almost immediate impact, according to Twentici, a data agency.

SOURCE: MoneyFacts [thetimes.co.uk – 4.8.20.]

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