Stamp duty holiday delays pushing average selling time to 295 days

Stamp duty holiday delays pushing average selling time to 295 days

Research by estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, has revealed it’s now taking 43 days longer to sell a home due to the delays caused by the stamp duty holiday.

GetAgent.co.uk keeps a comprehensive record of property sales across the nation, using data from all of the major online portals to record the point at which a home is listed for sale online. GetAgent then cross-references this sale with the Land Registry using proprietary algorithms to see when the sale completes, revealing what is selling, where, for how much and how long it’s taking.

GetAgent analysed the time it’s taking to sell a home since the introduction of the stamp duty holiday on 8th July 2020, how the holiday has impacted the market based on market performance prior to its introduction and how this compares to the same time period in 2019.

Time to accept an offer down by 14 days

The data shows that when looking at the average time from when a property is listed online until the point an offer is accepted, the benefit of the stamp duty holiday and the resulting increase in homebuyer demand has been clear

Between the 1st January 2020 and the introduction of the stamp duty holiday (8th July 2020), it was taking the average homebuyer 138 days from listing to accepting an offer. With the holiday in place and helping to turbocharge buyer interest, this time to find a buyer has since reduced by 14 days to just 124 days.

Time to actually sell up 43 days year on year

However, this only tells one part of the story and when looking at the total time to sell, it’s clear this huge influx of demand has caused delays in the latter stages of the transaction process.

Looking at the total time to sell from the initial listing of a property to the sale being recorded by the Land Registry as complete, the research shows it’s now taking an average of 295 days to sell a home.

This is 17 days longer when compared to the same year pre-stamp duty holiday (Jan-Jul 2020) and as much as 43 days longer year on year.

Founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented:

“They say that all good things must come to an end and while true, last week’s Budget has delayed this reality for many homebuyers with regard to the current stamp duty holiday.

However, while the holiday itself has helped boost buyer demand and the speed at which sales are being agreed, this has come with a small print catch in the form of substantial market delays during the tail end of the transaction process.

It’s now taking more than six weeks longer to complete a sale than it was the previous year and this can feel like an eternity as anyone who has bought or sold a house will tell you. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do to bypass this backlog other than sit tight and be patient. At least, at present, those currently delayed will have the reward of thousands saved in stamp duty when they do finally come to their completion date.”