The stamp duty holiday initially set to end in March 2021 will end at the end of June. The stamp duty holiday has led to property deals booming and house prices rising.
Experts say house prices are set to rise at the end of the month when the stamp duty holiday is over. Last month house prices hit a record high, averaging £261,743, according to Halifax.
Currently, buyers of houses in England and Northern Ireland worth between £125,000 and £500,000 pay no stamp duty if it is their main home. As of July 1 2021, there will be a £250,000 nil-rate band until September returning to the original £125,000 from October 1 2021.
In April, mortgage approvals rose for the first time in five months as more mortgages are being taken out; Bank of England numbers showed a 4% increase in May to 86,921.
According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) trade body, estate agents are selling the highest proportion of houses than they have since 2002.
Although it is hard to predict what will happen when the stamp duty holiday, estate agents expect the number of houses coming onto the market will decrease, but the prices will continue to increase.
A RICS spokesperson said: “Sales expectations on a 12-month horizon are flat, but expectations of further house price inflation appear to have intensified.”
If the demand stays high, property prices will keep rising, says Halifax managing director Russell Galley.
He added: “These trends, coupled with growing confidence in a more rapid recovery in economic activity if restrictions continue to be eased, are likely to support house prices for some time to come, particularly given the continued shortage of properties for sale.”
On the contrary, house buyers are worried prices will fall; almost 61% of first-time buyers think their house might be worth less than their original buying price when they look to sell or move.