Property investor backs Stamp Duty cut to boost new-build stock 

The government’s Stamp Duty reforms could provide a boost to homebuilding in the UK, a property investor claims.

Real estate investor Alliance Fund suggests the Stamp Duty cut could improve sentiment acorss the market and boost new housing delivery by 16% across England, with London seeing the largest potential uplift at 23%. 

The fund analysed the level of new-build completions following the implementation and duration of the original Stamp Duty holiday, comparing the level of housing delivery over these five quarters to the previous five quarters. 

The figures show that between the third quarter of 2020 and third quarter of 2021, following the introduction of the Government’s Stamp Duty holiday, a total of 220,530 new homes were completed across England. 

This is 16% more than the 189,440 completed in the five quarters before the tax break was announced - a boost of more than 31,000 new homes reaching the market. 

The London property market benefited to the greatest extent, with the capital seeing a 23% boost in new-build completions following the introduction of the stamp duty holiday, equating to 5,560 new homes versus the previous five quarters.  

The East Midlands also saw an increase, with the level of new homes reaching the market climbing by 20%, as did the North West and North East, where completions were up 18%, according to the research.

Every region of England saw a boost to new-build stock levels following the previous reductions to Stamp Duty and while this increase was at its lowest in Yorkshire and the Humber, there was still an 11% increase in new home completions, the analysis showed.

Iain Crawford, chief executive of Alliance Fund, “A Stamp Duty cut is great news for homebuyers but while it’s sure to help cultivate demand for housing, there’s a good chance we may also see a boost to the number of new homes reaching the market. 

“Of course, the saving itself doesn’t apply to housebuilders, although some do stomach the cost of Stamp Duty on behalf of their buyers and so there is a marginal benefit to their profit margins in this respect. 

“However, the far more influential factor is the boost that a Stamp Duty cut will bring to overall market sentiment and this is very much a wave worth riding for those delivering new-build stock to the market. 

“We’ve already seen how the Stamp Duty holiday helped the market bounce back during the pandemic, thanks to a heightened level of buyer numbers with budgets buoyed by a tax saving. 

“This also spurred an uplift in the number of new-build completions by developers keen to capitalise on such positive market conditions and so we can expect the latest cuts to have a similar influence for both homebuyers and housebuilders alike.”