418,000 sales worth £112 billion are in the pipeline which are yet to be completed, according to Zoopla
The home buying system is under pressure as around 140,000 more people are waiting to complete the process than this time last year, according to a report.
Zoopla estimates that there are 418,000 sales in the pipeline across the UK which are yet to be completed. These sales are worth a total of £112 billion.
Buyers are looking to snap up properties before a stamp duty holiday ends on March 31 2021. Stamp duty applies in England and Northern Ireland, but similar temporary tweaks have been made to the equivalent property taxes in Scotland and Wales.
Zoopla also had a warning for those hoping to enter the market early next year and take advantage of the stamp duty holiday.
Richard Donnell, research and insight director, Zoopla, said: Those who leave it to January to start their search for a home will be cutting it fine – just half of sales agreed in January will convert into a completed sale by the end of March so those looking to beat the stamp duty deadline will need to be well prepared.
Finding an agent before Christmas and instructing a conveyancer to prepare all the sellers legal information will be essential to boosting the chances of saving up to £15,000, he said.
Nick Leeming, chairman of Jackson-Stops, said: Whilst there has been a notable uptick in activity across every branch, this has been particularly prevalent in the South East, with Chichester and Dorking featuring amongst the locations which saw the highest volume of new offers on properties.
He said, the savings buyers can make from the SDLT holiday coupled with the pent up demand from the housing market’s closure, has resulted in a surge in transactions. This has stress tested the entire home buying system; agents have been working at full capacity, mortgage advisers are experiencing delays with lenders and conveyancers are under severe pressure.
