The stamp duty holiday introduced on 8 July is helping to lift demand, the latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey suggests.
In July a net 75% of surveyors saw a rise in new buyer enquiries, the second month in a row that demand has rebounded significantly. A net 59% also saw instructions rise, up from 41% in June. RICS noted that the stamp duty holiday is having a big impact on demand based on anecdotal evidence.
A net 26% of surveyors expect an increase in sales, however a net -10% expect sales to tail off over the course of the next 12 months – likely due to the stamp duty holiday expiring in March 2021.
Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance, said: “With the stamp duty holiday in place at least until March and hopefully longer, this should help support the housing market to a degree. No doubt there will be some negativity and a potential fall in confidence after government schemes such as furlough have ended but a possible downward trend should be eased by banks already preparing a loss buffer (HSBC), allowing them to work more closely, with borrowers who might be struggling with repayments.”