Estate agents and housebuilders got a boost on Wednesday as Chancellor Rishi Sunak extended a stamp duty holiday.
A suspension of stamp duty on property sales of up to £500,000 had been set to run until the end of March. But the deadline has now been moved to June 30.
Sunak added to then smooth the transition back to normal, the nil rate band will be £250,000, double its standard level, until the end of September.
Shares in FTSE 100 housebuilders including Barratt, Berkeley and Taylor Wimpey are up around 3%.
Persimmon, which this morning said it has had a strong start to 2021, was up nearly 5%.
Numerous residential companies saw the holiday last year help boost demand, and firms today welcomed the latest update in the Budget.
Online estate agent Purplebrick’s boss Vic Darvey, said: “The three month extension will come as a real relief for many movers who are now likely to complete in time. For these people, it’s a welcome reprieve and gives them, the industry and the wider economy some much needed breathing space.”
Guy Gittins, chief executive of Chestertons, said: “The Chancellor’s confirmation of a stamp duty holiday extension comes as a relief to hundreds of thousands of people who will be able to complete their property transactions with substantial tax savings.”
Sarwjit Sambhi,the boss of developer St. Modwen Properties, said: “This extension should go some way in alleviating the anxiety the cliff edge has caused for homebuyers across the country, and we welcome the phased reduction to October to avoid another administrative bottleneck come June.”
