The rumoured Stamp Duty Land Tax extension is a "shock" according to Steve Cox, chief commercial officer of Fleet Mortgages.
The rumoured Stamp Duty Land Tax extension is a shock, according to Steve Cox (pictured), chief commercial officer of Fleet Mortgages.
In the latest of Brightstar's VLOG series, hosted by group chief executive Rob Jupp, a group of industry experts discussed the status of the market, how it has fared during the pandemic and predictions for 2021.
Joining Jupp and Cox on this latest instalment of the VLOG was Adrian Moloney, group sales director of One Savings Bank and Precise Mortgages and David Whittaker, chief executive of Keystone Property Finance.
Cox explained that he was expecting the deadline to conclude on its original date of 31 March.
He said: “If the deadline is extended until June, as The Times revealed, then it will provide further stimulus to the housing market.
“The government are likely to want to keep the housing market fuelled and buoyant as we begin to see lockdown restrictions lifted.”
Cox went on to outline that he believes a three-month extension would be a good thing for the industry and customers alike.
On the rumoured extension, Jupp suggested that "good news stories tend to be leaked out early".
Adrian Moloney believes the potential extension adds to the "feel good factor".
He said: “An extension keeps the feel good factor going; there have been a lot of trade bodies, petitions and stories in the news encouraging an extension to the deadline.
“Give away signs that the stamp duty deadline will be extended are that both Help to Buy and the furlough scheme were extended beyond their respective initial end dates.”
David Whittaker, chief executive of Keystone Property Finance, added: “I think the extension was always inevitable, but the suggestion of a six-week extension was nonsense, as it is too short.
“However, the Chancellor will need to put some kind of gateway in place on 3 March during the Budget to stop new applicants attempting to meet the deadline, which would result in the same issues currently faced reoccurring in three months time.”
You can watch the latest Brightstar VLOG here.
