Prospective property purchasers looking to take advantage of the existing stamp duty holiday should start their journey this weekend or risk missing out, according to Legal & General Mortgage Club.

With the market currently experiencing a number of delays, owed in part to pent-up demand from buyers, transactions are taking longer to go through than normal, which means that buyers wanting to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday, which will be in place until 31 March 2021, need to get the ball rolling sooner than usual.

With five months remaining until end of the current stamp duty holiday, the number of home buyers has increased significantly.

Data released last week by HMRC reporting the numbers of residential completions in the UK in September shows 98,010 homes were sold during the month, a very similar level to September 2019 when 98,660 properties were sold, and a significant 21.3% increase on the number of completions in August this year, when 80,790 home buyers completed on their purchases.

Kevin Roberts, director, Legal & General Mortgage Club, commented: “The government’s stamp duty holiday has helped to encourage many hopeful buyers to press ahead with their homeownership plans, providing a much-needed boost to the economy.

“However, those wishing to take advantage of the ‘holiday’ will need to plan carefully to avoid missing the March 2021 deadline, particularly if they have their own property to sell first.

“Buyers should speak to a mortgage adviser when creating a plan as these professionals understand how to navigate the ongoing changes to the mortgage and homebuying process.”

The introduction of the tax break for such a short time has succeeded in pushing up property sales and prices but Roberts warns that many buyers risk missing out unless the deadline is extended.

He added: “As homebuyers rush to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday, policy makers need to consider if a tapering of the stamp duty deadline is needed instead of a hard deadline.

“We need to avoid those moving or purchasing a home missing out through delays after 31 March when the holiday ends.”