Which areas will benefit most from the stamp duty holiday?
As you may have heard, some home-movers can now take advantage of a new stamp duty holiday.
The temporary tax break, which was introduced on 8th July, means that buyers in England and Northern Ireland won’t pay any stamp duty on homes up to £500,000 until 31st March next year.
Asking prices of property vary massively across the country, so here’s what the average savings are in your region:
We also took a look at some of the biggest winners, where asking prices are currently between £450,000 and £500,000:
Outside London:
| Area | Region | Average asking price | Potential stamp duty saving |
| Dorking, Surrey | South East | £498,422 | £14,921 |
| Lymington, Hampshire | South East | £498,326 | £14,916 |
| Sunbury-On-Thames, Surrey | South East | £498,088 | £14,904 |
| Barton On Sea, New Milton, Hampshire | South East | £497,853 | £14,893 |
| Lewes, East Sussex | South East | £491,304 | £14,565 |
| Broxbourne, Hertfordshire | East of England | £486,701 | £14,335 |
| Hove, East Sussex | South East | £481,455 | £14,073 |
| Oxford, Oxfordshire | South East | £479,099 | £13,955 |
| Leckhampton, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire | South West | £477,518 | £13,876 |
| Hertford, Hertfordshire | East of England | £477,431 | £13,872 |
| Borehamwood, Hertfordshire | East of England | £476,791 | £13,840 |
| Camberley, Surrey | South East | £474,384 | £13,719 |
| Egham, Surrey | South East | £473,213 | £13,661 |
| Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire | North West | £472,053 | £13,603 |
| Fleet, Hampshire | South East | £471,653 | £13,583 |
| Wallingford, Oxfordshire | South East | £469,082 | £13,454 |
| Caterham, Surrey | South East | £467,885 | £13,394 |
| Wilmslow, Cheshire | North West | £467,443 | £13,372 |
| Tunbridge Wells, Kent | South East | £467,145 | £13,357 |
| Bath, Somerset | South West | £464,617 | £13,231 |
| Cambridge, Cambridgeshire | East of England | £464,007 | £13,200 |
| Chesham, Buckinghamshire | South East | £462,210 | £13,110 |
| Caversham, Reading, Berkshire | South East | £460,747 | £13,037 |
| Burnham, Slough, Berkshire | South East | £459,634 | £12,982 |
| Tonbridge, Kent | South East | £456,293 | £12,815 |
| Hitchin, Hertfordshire | East of England | £453,389 | £12,669 |
| Staines, Surrey | South East | £452,219 | £12,611 |
| West Malling, Kent | South East | £450,553 | £12,528 |
In London:
| Area | Borough | Average asking price | Potential stamp duty saving |
| Orpington | Bromley | £497,852 | £14,893 |
| Burnt Oak | Barnet | £497,839 | £14,892 |
| Chingford | Waltham Forest | £493,462 | £14,673 |
| Sydenham | Lewisham | £492,960 | £14,648 |
| Walthamstow | Waltham Forest | £492,755 | £14,638 |
| Wembley | Brent | £482,929 | £14,146 |
| Harrow | Harrow | £482,691 | £14,135 |
| Biggin Hill | Bromley | £478,702 | £13,935 |
| Blackfen | Bexley | £470,013 | £13,501 |
| Greenford | Ealing | £465,798 | £13,290 |
| Deptford | Lewisham | £465,670 | £13,283 |
| Forest Gate | Newham | £464,455 | £13,223 |
| Norwood | Croydon | £462,172 | £13,109 |
| Hounslow | Hounslow | £460,371 | £13,019 |
| Hornchurch | Havering | £459,108 | £12,955 |
| Sutton | Sutton | £457,251 | £12,863 |
| Tottenham | Haringey | £457,091 | £12,855 |
| Kingsbury | Barnet | £456,129 | £12,806 |
| Heston | Hounslow | £452,837 | £12,642 |
| Barkingside | Redbridge | £447,356 | £12,368 |
So what does this mean for you?
It may mean you can now consider a bigger home or a different location.
If so, why not check out our Where can I live? tool or look at our mortgage calculator?
How has the stamp duty holiday affected the market?
There has been record demand already from buyers over the past few weeks.
The number of people phoning and emailing estate agents about property for sale hit a new record on Wednesday (the day of the announcement), up 1% on the previous record set on 11th June and up 93% on the same day in 2019.
We also saw enquiries about new-build homes also hit a record, up 21% on the previous record set back on 11th June.
Request from potential sellers to have their home valued hit a record high, up 35% on the previous record set back on 22nd June and up 89% on the same day in 2019.
In the first half hour of the chancellor making the stamp duty holiday announcement, we saw the number of people looking on our site jump by 22%.
How many homes will be affected by the stamp duty changes?
There are over 510,000 properties that are £500,000 and under on Rightmove in total, making up 81% of all properties for sale in England.
There are more than 291,000 properties that are £500,000 or under currently available for sale on Rightmove, making up 78% of all properties available for sale in England (i.e. they have not yet found a buyer)
People enquiring about properties that are £500,000 or under on Rightmove makes up 84% of all buyer enquiries in England
What do the experts say?
Rightmove’s property expert Miles Shipside said: “This move will help to keep the nation and wider economy moving because keeping the current momentum going will help prevent destabilising falls in property prices as unemployment grows, and enable a quicker economic recovery.
“Lockdown prevented 175,000 would be sellers from coming to market so we hope this Stamp Duty holiday will provide the spur for those missing movers to come to market. They will find there’s currently record demand for their properties from prospective buyers, with Rightmove enquiries to agents now double what they were before lockdown.
“Home-movers will be grateful that the changes come into effect straight away so they don’t have to delay their plans, and what we could see now is people rushing to get a price agreed before some sellers put their prices up in the hope people will be able to pay more because of the tax savings.”
What changes have been introduced in Scotland?
In Scotland, a temporary cut to the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) on house sales kicks in on Wednesday (15th July), which will also last until 31st March next year.
The Scottish government’s changes mean that the starting point for paying the tax on house purchases will rise from £145,000 to £250,000.
This means someone buying a £250,000 property will save £2,100 in LBTT – and that eight out of 10 house sales in Scotland will be exempt from the tax.
What changes have been introduced in Wales?
The Welsh Government has announced a temporary increase to Land Transaction Tax (LTT) for residential property transactions from 27th July 2020.
This means that around 80% of house sales will be exempt from paying tax, as the changes will bring the rate payable for properties valued at between £180,000 and £250,000 to zero until 31st March 2021.
Properties selling for less than £180,000 are already exempt from paying the tax.
READ MORE: What does the new stamp duty holiday mean for you?
