{"id":6032219,"date":"2020-07-14T13:35:12","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T12:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.buyassociation.co.uk\/?p=6032219"},"modified":"2020-07-14T13:35:12","modified_gmt":"2020-07-14T12:35:12","slug":"new-build-home-enquiries-hit-record-high-after-stamp-duty-cut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/news\/new-build-home-enquiries-hit-record-high-after-stamp-duty-cut\/","title":{"rendered":"New-build home enquiries hit record high after stamp duty cut"},"content":{"rendered":"

The housing market received a jump-start last week after a major stamp duty overhaul. With record numbers of people now house-hunting, new-builds have seen a surge in popularity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Within moments of the news breaking that stamp duty<\/a> was to be cut for thousands of properties across the UK, property portal Rightmove recorded a 22% surge in visitors to its site. In fact, the day of the announcement – the 7th July – was the firm’s busiest ever day.<\/p>\n

With stamp duty now only due on homes over \u00a3500,000, prospective buyers<\/a> are scrambling to get onto or move up the ladder. The tax cut applies to second homes and landlords<\/a>, too, although the 3% surcharge still applies. According to the portal’s statistics, the aftermath of the property tax cut has been record-breaking.<\/p>\n

Last Wednesday 8th July, 8.5 million people visited the website, compared to the previous record of 7.7 million. Estate agents<\/a> also reported a huge rise in enquiries from prospective buyers. Interestingly, the statistics also showed that enquiries about new-build homes<\/a> also hit a record high. Rightmove reported a 35% rise in interest from the previous record, and an annual increase of 89%.<\/p>\n

Why the interest in new-builds?<\/h4>\n

Under the new, temporary rates, stamp duty does not apply to properties that are \u00a3500,000 or less. As was the case before the change, homes exceeding the lowest bracket are charged at incrementally higher rates, depending on the value. For example, on a property worth \u00a3600,000, the first \u00a3500,000 is now tax-free, and then the remaining amount from \u00a3501,000 to \u00a3600,000 is now taxed at 5%.<\/p>\n

This means that even buyers of more expensive properties<\/a> will make big savings. Many may now be in a position to look at pricier homes than they were before. This could explain why there has been a surge in demand for new-builds, as they tend to be more costly to buy than existing homes.<\/p>\n

Benefits of buying a new-build<\/h4>\n