Stamp Duty ‘not key factor in housing market now’ insists agency

A leading agency says the stamp duty holiday is not a big influence on the current housing market frenzy - and it hasn’t been for months.

Getting on the property ladder is now the most influential factor for moving, representing 25 per cent of buyers' motivations according to the Leaders Romans Group.

Coming in as the second and third most popular reasons for moving were to get a bigger home and a change in relationship, each of which were cited by nearly 20 per cent of respondents to a research study.

The agency claims the main reason for people moving - ‘getting on the property ladder’ - was unaffected by the stamp duty holiday this year. 

Kevin Shaw, group managing director of residential sales at LRG, comments: “It’s great to see that even in a challenging year, first time buyers are still getting onto the property ladder. So far this year we have seen increased activity in the £150,000 to £350,000 price range, particularly freehold, where there have been a number of cases of multiple offers from different buyers. 

“An increase in first-time buyer registrations is also extremely positive for the market as a whole, as their presence and ability to buy enables many more people who want to sell and move up the ladder the chance to do so by selling to a first-time buyer.”

With many more people having spent the majority of the last year at home due to pandemic restrictions, fewer than five per cent of those surveyed said that ‘new location for job’ was a prominent reason for moving home.