Following Rishi Sunak’s spring budget announcement, the stamp duty holiday will now be extended to 30 June 2021 and a 5% mortgage scheme will be re-introduced next month.
Jess Mitchell, office manager at Nottinghamshire estate agent Gascoines, said: “Following the initial government announcement to introduce a stamp duty holiday, the market saw house hunters relieved of costs and induced a mini housing boom as sellers were eager to take advantage and complete transactions in time.
“Rishi Sunak initially set the holiday, which extended to properties under £500,000, to end on 31 March 2021 but has announced the deadline will now be extended to 30 June with the nil-rate then lowered to £250,000 until the end of September. We’re therefore expecting to see a high number of properties listed over the coming weeks and offers placed in very short time periods, from now until September to really make the most of the extension.”
A government-backed 5% mortgage scheme will also be re-introduced to help current homeowners as well as first-time buyers looking to purchase a house for up to £600,000. The initiate will be available from April 2021 and has been designed to help “generation rent” become “generation buy”.
Jess added: “With the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 over the last 12 months, the property market witnessed lenders withdrawing their 95% mortgage offerings and demanding deposits of 10 – 15%, with much higher interest rates.
“We’re starting to see these rates dropping back to normal levels again and with the new government scheme, we hope to see more first-time buyers coming through the door and getting their foot onto the property ladder.
“My advice would be to always aim for higher than your deposit and if possible, have this ready – along with a mortgage in principle – before you start looking for a house and seek advice from your local estate agents or mortgage advisors.”
To find out more about Gascoines or speak to one of the local property experts, please visit www.gascoines.co or call 01636 813245.
