Impact Of Stamp Duty On Yorkshire House Prices

Published: 12/08/2021 By AR

While there is a range of factors to consider when evaluating the level of activity in the housing market in the past year, there is no denying that the stamp duty holiday was largely instrumental in buyer activity.

With the tapering off period for the stamp duty holiday in effect, it makes sense to take stock of the market, and what has happened. At Dwell, while we care about what is happening nationally, understandably, we focus on what is happening in Leeds.

We know the Leeds housing market

As of the start of August 2021, Rightmove says the following about house prices in Leeds;

“Properties in Leeds had an overall average price of £229,703 over the last year.

The majority of sales in Leeds during the last year were semi-detached properties, selling for an average price of £240,482. Terraced properties sold for an average of £165,859, with flats fetching £159,959.

Overall, sold prices in Leeds over the last year were 13% up on the previous year and 22% up on the 2018 peak of £188,869.”

So, there is a notable increase in house prices for Leeds in relation to the stamp duty holiday era. While many buyers have benefitted from the stamp duty saving, with house prices rising, there is a chance that some buyers ended up paying more than they would have done if the stamp duty holiday, and market boost, hadn’t occurred.

The market has been even busier this summer

Mark Hayward, the chief policy adviser at Propertymark, spoke about the flurry of activity before the tapering period began.

 He said; “We are definitely seeing a rush (before) the Thursday stamp duty tapering takes place. And those that are unable to meet the deadline are not seeking to withdraw from properties. The current continued interest in house buying and lack of supply means that we do expect to see the majority of those that are in the process complete their transactions beyond Thursday. People are moving for many reasons, the stamp duty holiday being only one of those.”
Leading property portal highlights the activity in the market

Rightmove research has uncovered the following:

• It is estimated that 1.3 million properties have been purchased since the stamp duty holiday began
• Only 4% of buyers said they would abandon their property purchase plans if they missed the stamp duty holiday tapering-off period
• The number of sales agreed on property purchases over £500,000 in May 2021 was 49% higher than the month of May 2019

Rightmove’s director of property data Tim Bannister said: “We haven’t yet seen any significant increase in properties falling through so it looks like most are going ahead regardless, though inevitably there will be some properties coming back onto the market later this week and next week if a buyer and seller are unable to agree new terms if the buyer misses out on the maximum stamp duty savings. Activity is still strong despite this first phase of the stamp duty holiday coming to an end in England, as prior to the extension being announced there was already a huge group of buyers deciding to move regardless of the stamp duty holiday.”

Tim Bannister concluded by saying; “The high level of activity is despite the fact that buyers are now faced with prices almost £16,000 higher than July last year on average, with the number of sales agreed up across all regions this month so far compared to June 2019.”

We're an independent Estate & Letting Agents based in Leeds. We pride ourselves on high quality service and expert local knowledge delivered through focused, passionate, and well-trained staff. Our Team are residential property specialists with an intimate and unique in-depth understanding of our local market. Call us on 0113 246 4860.