Knight Frank has made the unusual decision to wade into government housing policy and has urged the Chancellor to make the current stamp duty holiday permanent.
The estate agency has decided to make the recommendation after its analysis of sales data showed that that the number of offers accepted in the UK between 8th July and August 3rd was 146% above the five-year average for properties valued at less than £1.5 million, the section of the market where the impact of the holiday would be felt most.
Above that figure, the increase was 71%, it says.
Similarly, the number of new prospective buyers registering in the same period was 100% higher for sub-£1.5 million properties compared to a 70% increase above that value.
Viewings in this market have also jumped, rising by 46% versus the five-year average. Above £1.5 million, the increase was 13%.
“The holiday, it must be concluded, is working,” the company says. “Whether it should become a permanent arrangement is something the government should consider.”
Knight Frank is not the only company to notice the affect of Rishi Sunak’s stamp duty holiday.
Iain McKenzie, CEO of The Guild of Property Professional (left), says: “Since the housing market reopened, our Members have been busier than ever with some saying they have never been as busy as they are now.
“Before the stamp duty announcement, the Guild was already leading the industry in the number of weekly new instructions, however, since the announcement, the number of new instructions pouring in has accelerated with the network listing over 2,700 new instructions each week.
“Last year, from 8 July to 22 July, the Guild network was listing around 1,800 new instructions a week, so we are seeing around 900 more instructions each week during 2020.”
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