STAMP DUTY CUT IS A TEMPORARY FIX WHICH WON’T SOLVE DELAYS

A stamp duty cut will be welcomed by buyers, but it’s not going to solve a developing crisis of delays and inefficiencies in the housing market.

That’s the view of Andrew Prismall, chairman of national property search network IPSA, which is working alongside solicitors and the conveyancing sector to find ways to speed up transactions which can prove costly to home-buyers.

He said:

“It now takes buyers on average nearly four months from instructing a conveyancing solicitor to actually moving in and that’s causing a backlog in the system.

“We welcome Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s announcement today on stamp duty changes, which will particularly help first-time buyers and in turn should bring buoyancy and growth. But until some of the underlying issues are addressed, the housing market will still suffer from delays which stall sales and lead to stagnation.”

IPSA, the Association of Independent Personal Search Agents, is a not-for-profit network of property search experts across the UK. It provides access to local search experts to solicitors and conveyancers as part of the legal requirements for purchasing land and property.

In recent years, external panels – sometimes based overseas – have increasingly been appointed to carry out property searches, a practice which IPSA says can contribute to delays and therefore costs for buyers.

Andrew said:

“Our members across the UK are supporting thousands of solicitors with searches, with their extensive local knowledge helping to speed up transactions. This is obviously good news for buyers but it’s also good for conveyancers who want to complete for clients without unnecessary delays.

“However, latest figures from the Landmark Information Group for The Times show it’s taking 90% longer to buy a property now than in 2007.

“The stamp duty cut announced by the Chancellor will give a short term boost to the housing market, but scrapping it completely would have the bigger impact. Longer term, we need more than a temporary tax break to deliver a buoyant market.”

During the Covid crisis, the stamp duty holiday gave potential tax savings to potential buyers of up to £15,000 with the band at which the duty needed to be paid raised to £500,000.