The number of home buyers across Britain rose substantially in September as the countdown is on until the end of the Stamp Duty holiday.

According to data published by HMRC, the numbers of residential completions in Britain last month revealed 98,010 homes sold in September, not trailing too far behind last September’s figure of 98,660.

In addition, there was a 2.1% rise on the number of completions this August, when a total of 80,790 homes were purchased.

According to a report by The Express, the majority of completions registered in September were from previously agreed sales, as opposed to the introduction of the Stamp Duty Holiday in July.

Indeed, with an average five-month completion time, the true impact of the Chancellor’s initiative on the property market may not be seen until at least January.
Peter Ambrose, managing director of London property lawyers, The Partnership stated: “I don’t think these figures will surprise anyone who works in the property industry. 
“August was a bumper month for many estate agents that we work with, although many of the deals we completed in August had been agreed before lockdown. They just took a quite a while to work their way through the system.
“What we’re seeing now isn’t the result of the Stamp Duty holiday kicking in. That’s yet to come.” 
Mr Ambrose went on to add: “While we have seen a huge increase in deals over the past few weeks, and are expecting a busier than usual November and December, we think the busiest months will be early next year between January and March. This is completely different from previous years, as they are usually our quietest months.  
“It’s looking like it’s going to be similar to the huge increase we last saw in the first quarter of 2016 before the introduction of additional Stamp Duty Land Tax on second homes and buy to let properties. 
“Back then, completions rose to over 170,000 in March before the ‘cliff edge’ and then dropped back down to 73,500 in April. This might happen again, unless of course the current Stamp Duty holiday is extended,” he said.
Jeremy Leaf, former RICS residential chairman said: “Although a little historic as these numbers reflect sales which were agreed at least some months previously, they help to show the resilience of the market during the economic and pandemic turmoil.
“What we have noticed since activity cooled a little over the last few weeks is that very few buyers are withdrawing from transactions and very few instructions are being withdrawn from sale. Prices are sometimes being renegotiated to take into account current realities. In other words, much the same as was happening immediately after lockdown at the end of March.”