Last week, confirmation of an immediate stamp duty cut look to mean delayed sales can finally be complete. However, the immediate talk following has been focused on the reduction and the Government’s mini-budget and how it should have gone further.

Described as a ‘growth plan’, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng increased at what point stamp duty is charged on property purchases from £125,000 to £250,000 for home movers. The first-time buyer threshold will increase from £300,000 to £425,000 and can be used on purchases worth up to £625,000.

Sigh of Relief

Naturally, this much-rumoured stamp duty cut confirmation comes as a huge sigh of relief for agents and conveyancers when introduced last week, covering concerns that buyers about to complete transactions had last week.

Within an hour of the announcement, online traffic for homes jumped by 10%. The rise of the threshold to £250,000 has now exempted a third of all homes currently listed for sale in England, including those looking to buy property in Stockport. This is up from 7% when the threshold was £125,000.

This has now resulted in two-thirds of homes across the nation now being fully exempt from the property tax for first-time buyers in the UK.

Positive Step

The Treasury revealed that doubling the nil-rate band enables up to 29,000 more people to move home within the year, with the increased threshold for first-time buyers giving them even more options. First-time buyers purchasing a property at £400,000 would save £5,000 on Stamp Duty. the saving increases to £11,250 for first-time buyers on a property at £600,000.

The savings are smaller for homeowners at £2,500 for a £400,000 or £600,000 purchase.

These cuts are proving great for first-time buyers but have left other groups such as downsizers feeling a bit left out in the cold. Whilst the rebalancing of the thresholds for which Stamp Duty is paid for first-time buyers is long overdue, the landscape for downsizers and last-time movers also could have been reviewed to release the latter part of the market.

This would unblock the standstill for second-steppers and first-time buyers instead of causing stagnation for buyers with nothing to move to.

Still on the Slate

Whilst the implementation of an immediate and permanent reduction means that existing transactions will suffer no unruly delays and the benefits can be felt early, the shortage of supply, raising interest rates and the cost of a five-year fixed-mortgage tripling over the last year will still play a large hand for those looking to buy property in Stockport and exploring avenues on how to sell a house.

Contact the team at Joules estate agents Stockport today for updated information on available property in the northwest.

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You no doubt have heard all of the reports of an impending market crash in the housing sector, mostly people predicting that it will happen soon. The truth is that the crash is a long way off from happening to the market, but the sellers wanting to sell a home are now becoming more realistic.

No Drastic Sign

As agents and property professionals slug through their debate over the potential housing market downturn and what advice they should be providing to clients, there are no signs that the market will return to those 1990s drastic states.

In those previous periods, the clear sign of a market crash would be receiving keys through the office letter box with notes requesting an immediate valuation. At this stage, we are nowhere in that state of emergency with the current market.

True, we are seeing signs of a turning tide for the property market in the UK, but to predict a crash is still way too early as supply remains tight and is continuing to underpin the market. The sentiment among sellers, however, has seen a change with them becoming more realistic around their pricing.

Listen to the Agent

Sellers are now realising that they need to listen to what their agents are telling them regarding pricing if they want to sell their property. With looming interest rate hikes, the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and bloated media reports about an impending crash are bringing more stock to the market with more and more sellers realising that their pricing has to be more based on realism.

Now we are seeing more increases in activity from buyers wanting to capitalise on this, especially around people wanting to buy property in Stockport and surrounding rural areas. As rents and hotel prices increase rapidly over the last few months and are set to increase further, it is expected that buyers will see more value in the new build market especially, with the weak pound bolstering the market as foreign parties look to capitalise on discounts through exchange rates.

Good Advice Pays Off

Good advice always pays off and when it comes to the housing market, your sound advice and guidance always come from independent estate agents Stockport. Not only are they the sound voice of reason on buying a property advice, but also around all avenues of how to sell a house and advice on renting a property.

With the need for stabilising the marketplace with realistic thinking, estate agents Stockport should be the one voice where sellers take their most valued decision-making plans.

To sell a home, contact the team at Joules Estate Agents today for all advice on the housing market from buying to selling.

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