Confidence in the housing market has surged to a four-year high, surveyors and estate agents reveal.

Stamp duty holidays, paired with increasing demand for homes equipped with outdoor spaces since the start of a coronavirus-led lockdown, have boosted Britain’s property market. 

A net balance of 44% of members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) reported a rise in prices, The Guardian reports, marking the highest reading since 2016, according to its latest monthly outline.

This comes in much higher than the 13% reported in July and marks a significant rebound from the -33% registered in May. Currently, all parts of the UK are now seeing significant growth in prices. 

According to the latest data from Rics, the amount of buyers looking for homes with gardens has jumped I the midst of the global pandemic, with 83% of those in the survey expecting demand for these properties to surge over the next two years, while 79% forecast demand for properties close to green areas to increase significantly. 

The surge in Britain’s housing market in August was mainly driven by those benefiting from the stamp duty holiday, Rics noted. 

Earlier this year, chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a stamp duty holiday, meaning no tax is required on homes below £500,000 in England and Northern Ireland, and £250,000 in Scotland and Wales. 

Of the surveyors and estate agents, 63% registered a hike in buyer demand over the past month. However, the long-term outlook still remains uncertain.

Elsewhere, surveyors from mortgage lenders Nationwide and Halifax have also reported house prices climbing significantly.  

“The UK housing market continues to gather pace with the momentum of a runaway freight train, and the fuel of a stamp duty reprieve is not only enticing buyers to act, but it’s causing homes below the £500,000 threshold to sell for a very good price,” said Marc von Grundherr, director of the London estate agent Benham and Reeves.