Stamp Duty holiday has been imperative in keeping the economy buoyant...

Jonathan Sealey, Hope Capital’s CEO, says “There’s no doubt that the stamp duty holiday has been imperative in keeping the economy buoyant. The strong recovery of house purchase lending in Q3 has certainly been aided by the continued release of pent up demand within the property market. This has been boosted by the stamp duty holiday, inspiring people to bring transactions forward and make the most of the temporarily increased nil rate bands.

“The recent news of a vaccine being rolled out is promising, giving a glimmer of hope for a return to normality in the months to come. However, the future of the housing market and wider economy is not only down to returning to normal life, it is also dependent on the extent of the invisible damage already done.

“When the furlough scheme comes to an end, we will have a clearer outlook on this, and we may yet see high redundancy rates. This is when we could see disruption in the housing market, as households will likely express caution when it comes to borrowing.

“As we look forward, we can only hope that the stamp duty holiday has been enough of a stimulus to encourage property transactions until Q1 next year and that when it ends, the wider economy is in a strong enough position to keep the market moving.”

Published: 04 December 2020