The current stamp duty holiday has already saved homebuyers an estimated £817m, with the potential to reach £1.5bn before the March deadline, according to new research by Keller Williams UK.
Keller Williams UK analysed property sold price records for residential transactions in England since the introduction of the stamp duty holiday. They then looked at the number of transactions exempt from paying stamp duty as a percentage of all transactions and the total saving made by homebuyer above and below the £500,000 threshold.
The data reveals that 147,969 transactions have completed to the tune of more than £50.3m in value since 8 July last year.
A notable 125,389, or 85%, of these transactions have fallen within the £500,000 price bracket meaning they are exempt from paying stamp duty due to the existing holiday.
The study shows that thanks to the reprieve in place, stamp duty tax paid since July of last year totals just £627.467m at present, with more homebuyers still due to benefit as a result.
Homebuyers in London have unsurprisingly seen by far the most significant saving compared to other major UK cities.
Keller Williams UK estimates the capital has seen a stamp duty saving of £190m alone, with 49% of all transactions also paying no tax at all having completed below the £500,000 threshold.
In contrast, a more affordable price tag across other regional cities means the saving has been far less pronounced, although the benefit has arguably been greater.
In Sunderland, for example, 99.7% of residential transactions have been stamp duty exempt. While this saving equates to just £599,349, it has seen the amount of stamp duty paid hit just £12,025 compared to £611,374 in normal market conditions; a considerable saving for homebuyers in the city.
Ben Taylor, CEO of Keller Williams UK, commented: “While many will grumble about the current market backlogs and the level of homebuyers who could miss out on a stamp duty saving, there’s no denying it has been monumentally beneficial.
“Not only has it helped revive the market from a demand standpoint, but homebuyers have saved a tremendous amount of money.
“Although this saving has been more pronounced across the more inflated pockets of the market, a far higher percentage of homebuyers in more affordable areas have paid no stamp duty whatsoever.”
| Table shows the current and forecast stamp duty saving based on a saving of £5,594,019 per day already saved | ||||
| Stamp Duty Saving Period | Time period | Days | Saving per day | SDLT saving |
| Current stamp duty saving period | 8th July 2020 to 30th November 2020 | 146 | £5,594,019 | £816,726,800 |
| Forecast stamp duty saving | 1st Dec 2020 to 31st March 2021 | 121 | £5,594,019 | £676,876,321 |
| Potential total stamp duty saving | 8th July 2020 to 31st March 2021 | 267 | £5,594,019 | £1,493,603,121 |
| Saving per day based on the current saving of £816,726,800 divided by 146 days. | ||||
| Table shows the number of transactions completed in England between 8th July 2020 and the end of November 2020, the percentage that have paid no stamp duty and the stamp duty saving made | ||||||||
| Location | All transactions | Value of transactions | Stamp duty exempt transactions | Value of stamp duty exempt | Stamp duty exempt as % of all | SDLT paid at regular market rates | SDLT paid due to holiday | Saving (£) |
| London | 15,982 | £11,228,111,201 | 7859 | £2,908,742,858 | 49.2% | £541,130,168 | £351,067,109 | £190,063,059 |
| Bournemouth | 1,446 | £550,055,869 | 1207 | £353,578,236 | 83.5% | £15,452,360 | £5,458,792 | £9,993,569 |
| Bristol | 1,168 | £423,450,561 | 997 | £288,835,683 | 85.4% | £10,703,785 | £3,168,394 | £7,535,391 |
| Leeds | 2,123 | £512,592,737 | 2000 | £427,342,167 | 94.2% | £8,540,506 | £1,418,219 | £7,122,287 |
| Birmingham | 1,961 | £454,431,760 | 1865 | £386,118,310 | 95.1% | £6,939,662 | £1,181,523 | £5,758,140 |
| Sheffield | 1,192 | £260,880,351 | 1133 | £218,310,949 | 95.1% | £3,919,879 | £721,720 | £3,198,159 |
| Oxford | 276 | £165,114,970 | 173 | £62,065,365 | 62.7% | £6,968,469 | £4,035,680 | £2,932,788 |
| Manchester | 924 | £213,234,806 | 890 | £191,035,985 | 96.3% | £3,070,438 | £266,741 | £2,803,697 |
| Cambridge | 243 | £129,155,890 | 153 | £54,968,140 | 63.0% | £4,525,318 | £1,917,848 | £2,607,470 |
| Portsmouth | 581 | £150,825,462 | 550 | £130,108,962 | 94.7% | £2,448,299 | £304,575 | £2,143,724 |
| Plymouth | 837 | £178,453,142 | 821 | £168,230,142 | 98.1% | £2,151,285 | £113,650 | £2,037,635 |
| Newcastle | 718 | £158,849,193 | 690 | £136,018,018 | 96.1% | £2,535,100 | £591,009 | £1,944,091 |
| Liverpool | 934 | £166,728,091 | 908 | £150,539,601 | 97.2% | £1,900,440 | £159,425 | £1,741,015 |
| Southampton | 524 | £122,823,390 | 519 | £119,700,890 | 99.0% | £1,605,549 | £31,125 | £1,574,424 |
| Leicester | 430 | £95,177,866 | 419 | £87,164,866 | 97.4% | £1,229,689 | £136,950 | £1,092,739 |
| Nottingham | 611 | £111,819,616 | 600 | £104,504,616 | 98.2% | £1,095,223 | £93,750 | £1,001,473 |
| Sunderland | 634 | £89,711,011 | 632 | £88,470,511 | 99.7% | £611,374 | £12,025 | £599,349 |
| ENGLAND | 147,969 | £50,368,899,661 | 125,389 | £30,729,461,900 | 84.7% | £1,444,193,933 | £627,467,133 | £816,726,800 |
| Data sourced from the Land Registry Price Paid records of all transactions to have completed up until November 2020 (the latest available data). | ||||||||
via Property Industry Eye