Homeowners in England and Wales are saving £11,566 on average through the stamp duty holiday, according to Halifax.
Homeowners in England and Wales are saving £11,566 on average through the stamp duty holiday, according to Halifax.
The average house price for homemovers in the six months to June 2020 was £373,537, however this increased by £57,790 during the stamp duty holiday period to £431,327.
While the threshold for stamp duty was increased to £500,000, based on the average house price for homemovers this meant in England, only those in London and the South East still had to pay on average £9,848 and £925 respectively.
In Wales, where the nation’s rules differ, the average stamp duty paid was £379.
As a result of the rise in house prices, average deposits rose by £11,558 to £57,248.
Those who moved home in London have lower upfront costs of around £12,188, as the amount of deposit increased by an average £2,812, which was offset by stamp duty holiday savings of £15,000.
However, this is the only region where the stamp duty savings offset the rise in average house price deposits.
The proportion of homemovers paying stamp duty on transactions dropped from 93% in the six months to June 2020, to 26% in the six months to December.
In addition, there was a drop in the number of first-time buyers paying stamp duty holiday, from 29% to 10% in the same period.
During the holiday period, 67% of homemovers in London paid stamp duty on their home purchase, followed by the South East at 39%, down from 100% in both regions.
The smallest proportion of homemovers in the North at 4% paid stamp duty, down from 74% pre-holiday.
Furthermore, people buying their first home in London and the South East paid on average £9,011 in stamp duty, while those in the South East paid £549 in the six months to June 2020.
Only first-time buyers in London and the South East are saving money as a result of the stamp duty relief, in London the £2,848 increase in deposit was offset by savings of £9,723.
In the South East, first-time buyers are on average saving £2,054 as the £3,471 increase in deposit has been partially offset by the stamp duty holiday savings of £1,417.
Almost four in 10, 38%, of first-time buyers in London paid stamp duty during the second half of 2020, down from 86% before the holiday period started.
Meanwhile in the South East this was down from 42% to 9%, followed by those in East Anglia and South West dropping from 18% and 15% respectively, to 3% during the same period.
Andy Bickers, mortgages director, Halifax, said: “Since the summer we have seen a huge surge in mortgage applications, as people raced to make much sought after stamp duty savings.
“We know that lockdown restrictions have made it more practically challenging for those buying and selling, but the stamp duty holiday has been one of the main drivers of continued demand for sales and purchases during the pandemic and we will wait to see if further steps are taken that could give people more time.”
