Savills holds extra sale to beat stamp duty cut-off

Savills will hold two sales less than a month apart to capitalise on demand to complete residential deals before the end of the stamp duty holiday on 31 March. The auctioneer will offer 128 lots in its online auction on 9 February and follow this with a 2 March sale instead of waiting until later in the month as it typically would. Savills’ head of auctions Christopher Coleman-Smith said this meant buyers would be able to “comfortably complete in the necessary timeframe as this can take up to 20 working days”. The Covid tax break was announced back in July to give an immediate boost to the market. Since then, no basic stamp duty has been payable on property purchases below £500,000, and purchases above that pay stamp duty only on the value above £500,000. Landlords and second-home buyers are also eligible for the tax cut, but still pay the additional stamp duty they were charged under the previous rules. “Regardless of the level of the market that you’re buying at, a saving of this size can be enormously helpful,” said Coleman-Smith. A saving of up to £15,000 meant owner-occupiers could stretch themselves that bit more or upgrade refurbishment works, while for businesses an extra £15,000 towards their profit margin could make all the difference to a deal being made, he added. At the end of 2020 Savills’ average sold price was £400,000, and in its upcoming February catalogue 85% of lots are under the £500,000 threshold. They include a five-bedroom house in Upper Norwood, SE25, guided at £400,000 (lot 32); a three-bedroom terraced house in Cambridge guided at £300,000 (lot 2); and a first-floor studio flat in Bayswater, W2, guided at £265,000 (lot 12). At the other end of the scale, Savills saw the highest number of £1m-plus lots through its auctions to date in 2020 and has 10 in its February catalogue, including a three-bedroom duplex apartment in Kensington, W8, guided at £4.75m (lot 27). Coleman-Smith said the stamp duty saving was a contributing factor in boosting the £1m-plus market. Tax break extension unlikely as figures show market boost The property industry has raised concerns that thousands of private treaty deals will collapse because they will not complete before the 31 March end to the stamp duty holiday and has urged chancellor Rishi Sunak to extend the deadline. However, an extension seems increasingly unlikely given the health of the residential market. UK residential sales in December 2020 were up 31.5% on December 2019 and up 13.1% on November 2020, according to HM Revenue & Customs. The average house price in the UK rose 7.6% (to £249,633) in the year to November 2020, according to the UK House Price Index. To send feedback, e-mail julia.cahill@egi.co.uk or tweet @EGJuliaC or @estatesgazette