Stamp duty break means more in London

The stamp duty holiday has unsurprisingly benefited London the most and had little impact in many other parts of the country, new figures show.

The number of agreed property sales in the capital has increased in recent months, helping to drive up prices in the city.

Residential property prices in London jumped at the end of last year, with average values breaking the £500,000 mark, according to official data.

Experts said the rise was driven in part by house hunters rushing to complete transactions before the stamp duty holiday deadline in March.

“The stamp duty holiday is a particular benefit in London and is likely to have played a significant part in this strong price growth, as the higher average house prices means that more stamp duty is typically due,” said PwC economist Jamie Durham.

On average in London buyers will save £10,514 on their move if they beat the deadline, research shows.

But there is obvious concern that property deals could collapse this spring as prospective buyers who have failed to exchange and complete by the end of the stamp duty holiday walk away.

Activity is expected to slow when the tax break ends on 31 March, and there is concern among many agents in the capital that some buyers who miss the deadline will pull out.

“The pressure to complete before the holiday ends is likely to be greatest where average values are around this level, such as in London,” said Lawrence Bowles, an analyst at Savills.

With the current deadline fast approaching, estate agents Coulters Property has conducted a study to reveal which parts of the country are making the biggest savings.
The study estimates the average amount that each local authority in the UK pays for stamp duty based on local house values, to reveal the areas which are set to fork out the most if the holiday is not extended beyond the end of next month.
The 20 local authorities making the biggest savings is dominated by London (the amount of SDLT owed was calculated based on the rates which will come into effect from 1 April 2021, according to GOV.UK):

Rank

Local authority

Average house price

Total stamp duty owed

1

Kensington and Chelsea

£1,507,130

£94,605

2

City of London

£916,239

£35,811

3

City of Westminster

£910,148

£35,506

4

Camden

£840,770

£32,038

5

Hammersmith and Fulham

£750,380

£27,518

6

Richmond upon Thames

£707,773

£25,388

7

Islington

£682,111

£24,105

8

Wandsworth

£638,926

£21,945

9

Elmbridge

£620,674

£21,033

10

Hackney

£607,105

£20,354

11

Haringey

£605,415

£20,270

12

Merton

£571,988

£18,598

13

Lambeth

£551,499

£17,574

14

Southwark

£547,301

£17,364

15

Brent

£540,086

£17,003

16

St Albans

£533,281

£16,663

17

Three Rivers

£531,874

£16,593

18

Barnet

£526,127

£16,305

19

Kingston upon Thames

£506,339

£15,316

20

Mole Valley

£503,277

£15,163

Of course, there are also a number of local authorities where the average house price is below the £125,000 threshold, so therefore homeowners in these areas generally do not pay any stamp duty. Unsurprisingly, no borough in London features in this list:

Local authority

Average house price

Blackburn with Darwen

£121,813

City of Kingston upon Hull

£119,517

Stoke-on-Trent

£119,109

Hartlepool

£118,479

West Dunbartonshire

£117,877

North Lanarkshire

£116,565

Middlesbrough

£116,488

Sunderland

£116,393

North Ayrshire

£116,314

Blackpool

£115,280

Merthyr Tydfil

£114,704

Pendle

£113,915

Inverclyde

£112,474

East Ayrshire

£110,073

County Durham

£109,980

Hyndburn

£100,372

Burnley

£99,409

Blaenau Gwent

£95,002

Average house prices were sourced from the UK House Price Index (November 2020).
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