Selling property typically takes 295 days due to the impact of the pandemic and the government’s stamp duty holiday, research from estate agent comparison site GetAgent.co.uk has found.
Since the stamp duty holiday was introduced in July 2020 demand has been fired up, as the time it takes to find a buyer has fallen by 14 days to 124 days.
However it is still taking 43 days longer for the sale to go through.
The research compared the period between January and July 2020 to July and December 2020.
Colby Short, founder and chief executive of GetAgent.co.uk, said: “They say that all good things must come to an end and while true, last week’s Budget has delayed this reality for many homebuyers with regard to the current stamp duty holiday.
“However, while the holiday itself has helped boost buyer demand and the speed at which sales are being agreed, this has come with a small print catch in the form of substantial market delays during the tail end of the transaction process.
“It’s now taking more than six weeks longer to complete a sale than it was the previous year and this can feel like an eternity as anyone who has bought or sold a house will tell you.
“Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do to bypass this backlog other than sit tight and be patient. At least, at present, those currently delayed will have the reward of thousands saved in stamp duty when they do finally come to their completion date.”
Comments (1)
Interesting headline grabbing article that focuses on the problem rather than the cure. There is, in my opinion, plenty that can be done rather than ‘sitting and being patient’! We run at a quoted 28-34% ongoing fall through rate in England and Wales because we sit back and wait. All stakeholders need to take more responsibility to get legally prepared rather than waiting for a broken system (under tremendous pressure) to lumber into action. Agents should get sellers AML/ID checked with an appropriate online accredited system. Sellers should complete legal protocol forms and order the Searches on their sale. When a buyer is found all of the documents can be made available to their solicitors and they can be ready to do the lawyering saving many weeks of time where little or nothing else happens. The coming Property Passports and UPRN’s for every household offer a tremendous opportunity for further improvement from the status quo. As Beth Rudolf says ‘The solutions are there they just need to be acted on’