By Legal Futures’ Associates SearchFlow
Dr Tom Quirke, managing director of SearchFlow, the UK’s largest provider of legal due diligence data for residential and commercial property transactions, explains the market implications of the Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday extension to September, announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Spring Budget:
“For the thousands of people currently hoping to benefit from the Stamp Duty holiday, this extension makes for welcome news. It gives them hopeful reassurance that they won’t lose out on a potential financial saving, on what could be up to £15,000, and gives them and their legal service providers more time to complete.
“The pressures that the industry has been facing in processing the increased transaction volumes has been tough for the industry to scale up to. It is likely that more buyers will want to take advantage of the tax savings on offer and so we envisage the exceptional levels are likely to continue for some time.
“Data from a Property Trends Report published by Landmark Information Group paints a very clear picture on what these peaks have looked like since the SDLT holiday was first announced, with property search order volumes up by almost 60% in December 2020, compared to 2019. The industry therefore has to continue digging deep, innovating and adapting, where possible, to meet the deadline.”
For more information on SearchFlow, call 0870 423 2922, email sales@searchflow.co.uk or visit www.searchflow.co.uk.
