Homebuyers have saved £108m thanks to stamp duty holiday

Those acquiring residential property have saved up to £108m since the stamp duty was cut in July, new figures show.

Fresh analysis of sold price records across England from the Land Registry between the launch of the stamp duty holiday on 8 July and 31 August, which is the latest available data, reveals that 85% of residential transactions across England were potentially exempt from stamp duty as of 31 August, as they fell below the £500,000 threshold.

According to the research, undertaken by Benham and Reeves, there have been some 20,238 transactions since the stamp duty holiday was launched with a sold value of £6.7bn.

The estate agency has estimated the total savings over the duration of the stamp duty holiday could amount to £524.9m.

Of 16 major cities, the company found that Southampton, Plymouth, Sheffield, Newcastle and Nottingham have seen the biggest benefit for homebuyers.

Some 98% of all transactions in these cities since the stamp duty holiday was implemented have been at £500,000 or below; with no stamp duty paid as a consequence.

In fact, the other more affordable major cities have seen between 84% and 97% of transactions pay no stamp duty.

Oxford and Cambridge have seen 59% and 52% of transactions pay no stamp duty.

London has so far seen the lowest proportion of transactions that were exempt from stamp duty, at 48%.

However, buyers in the capital have so far saved the most as a result of the stamp duty cut, potentially up to £25.2m.

Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, commented: “Given the fact that the holiday has only been in place for a few short months, the money saved by homebuyers as a result is quite astounding.

“Of course, it has caused demand to go through the roof and so you could argue that in regular market conditions the saving wouldn’t be quite as considerable.”

He added: “You could argue that the tax should be abolished completely as it’s nothing more than an archaic money grab from the government, to the detriment of those who are already stretching to afford the most expensive purchase in life. Based on these figures, you wouldn’t be the only one and it does highlight just how much is paid to the government via stamp duty tax.”

The table shows the number of total transactions since the stamp duty holiday started, the number that were exempt from paying stamp duty and the total saving the holiday has brought across all price bands of the market: 

Major UK Cities
All transactions count (since 8th July)
All transactions value (since 8th July)
Stamp duty exempt transactions
Exempt transactions value
Stamp duty exempt trans as % of all trans
Stamp duty owed prior to the holiday
Stamp duty paid due to the holiday
Total stamp duty saving
London
2,115
£1,505,392,043
1,017
£374,405,502
48%
£73,163,850
£47,965,688
£25,198,161
Bournemouth
228
£84,364,686
191
£54,089,853
84%
£2,327,777
£830,742
£1,497,036
Bristol
167
£56,891,791
148
£42,265,291
89%
£1,305,626
£313,575
£992,051
Birmingham
314
£71,345,719
300
£61,023,719
96%
£1,062,615
£188,600
£874,015
Leeds
258
£63,468,739
241
£50,669,294
93%
£1,145,336
£271,722
£873,614
Oxford
39
£22,865,260
23
£8,733,100
59%
£891,713
£444,608
£447,105
Manchester
138
£31,119,926
132
£27,028,425
96%
£453,444
£54,575
£398,869
Plymouth
127
£27,420,475
125
£26,282,975
98%
£328,665
£6,875
£321,790
Portsmouth
68
£17,993,320
64
£15,247,820
94%
£306,974
£42,525
£264,449
Sheffield
124
£24,302,129
122
£22,779,129
98%
£285,701
£26,150
£259,551
Cambridge
21
£12,161,333
11
£4,069,500
52%
£425,983
£181,008
£244,975
Southampton
66
£16,584,290
65
£15,959,290
98%
£249,970
£6,250
£243,720
Liverpool
113
£20,238,505
109
£17,808,510
96%
£252,780
£21,500
£231,280
Newcastle
98
£19,385,275
96
£17,800,275
98%
£228,852
£29,250
£199,602
Leicester
59
£13,182,500
57
£11,939,500
97%
£169,990
£12,150
£157,840
Nottingham
84
£15,354,012
82
£14,219,012
98%
£150,975
£6,750
£144,225
ENGLAND overall
20,238
£6,741,384,354
17,254
£4,161,766,995
85%
£188,942,507
£80,815,821
£108,126,686
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