The latest research from lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed the huge number of homebuyers that have already benefited from the current stamp duty saving and the money they’ve saved.
Benham and Reeves analysed sold price records across England from the Land Registry between the launch of the stamp duty holiday on 8th July and August 31st (latest available data).
The research shows that there have been some 20,238 transactions since the holiday was launched with a sold value of £6.7bn.
As many as 85% of these transactions have fallen below the £500,000 price threshold and paid no stamp duty as a result.
The resulting saving for homebuyers at all price thresholds of the market has been considerable. In regular market conditions, £189m would have been paid in stamp duty. With the holiday in place, this has fallen to £80.8m, a total of saving of £108,126,686 in just two months.
Southampton, Plymouth, Sheffield, Newcastle and Nottingham have been amongst some of the major cities to see the biggest benefit for homebuyers. 98% of all transactions in these cities since the stamp duty holiday was implemented have been at £500,000 or below; with no stamp duty paid as a result.
In fact, the other more affordable major cities have seen between 84% and 97% of transactions pay no stamp duty.
Oxford and Cambridge have seen 59% and 52% of transactions pay no stamp duty.
London is home to the lowest number of stamp duty exempt transitions as a percentage of all transactions at 48%. However, the capital has seen homebuyers save the most by far. Since the stamp duty holiday started, London homebuyers have saved nearly £25.2m alone.
Wandsworth is the London borough with the biggest saving to date, with homeowners saving £1.7m in stamp duty. Bromley (£1.5m), Croydon (£1.2m), Barnet (£1.1m) and Richmond (£1m) have also seen the stamp duty saving exceed £1m.
In terms of the most stamp duty-free property purchases, Barking and Dagenham ranks top with 100% of transactions falling within the holiday threshold. Newham (83%) and Bexley (75%) have also seen a considerable amount of transactions complete without stamp duty owed.
Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:
“Given the fact that the holiday has only been in place for a few short months, the money saved by homebuyers as a result is quite astounding.
Of course, it has caused demand to go through the roof and so you could argue that in ‘regular’ market conditions the saving wouldn’t be quite as considerable.
However, it has helped the housing market bounce back from pandemic uncertainty at an alarming rate, helping to avoid a property price crash, while benefiting thousands of homebuyers in the process.
It will be interesting to see the final scores on the doors once the holiday ends but at this rate, the money saved is going to be huge.
You could argue that the tax should be abolished completely as it’s nothing more than an archaic money grab from the Government, to the detriment of those who are already stretching to afford the most expensive purchase in life. Based on these figures, you wouldn’t be the only one and it does highlight just how much is paid to the Government via stamp duty tax.”
Tables show the number of total transactions since the stamp duty holiday started, the number that were exempt from paying stamp duty and the total saving the holiday has brought across all price bands of the market.
Major UK Cities
All transactions count (since 8th July)
All transactions value (since 8th July)
Stamp duty exempt transactions
Exempt transactions value
Stamp duty exempt trans as % of all trans
Stamp duty owed prior to the holiday
Stamp duty paid due to the holiday
Total stamp duty saving
London
2,115
£1,505,392,043
1,017
£374,405,502
48%
£73,163,850
£47,965,688
£25,198,161
Bournemouth
228
£84,364,686
191
£54,089,853
84%
£2,327,777
£830,742
£1,497,036
Bristol
167
£56,891,791
148
£42,265,291
89%
£1,305,626
£313,575
£992,051
Birmingham
314
£71,345,719
300
£61,023,719
96%
£1,062,615
£188,600
£874,015
Leeds
258
£63,468,739
241
£50,669,294
93%
£1,145,336
£271,722
£873,614
Oxford
39
£22,865,260
23
£8,733,100
59%
£891,713
£444,608
£447,105
Manchester
138
£31,119,926
132
£27,028,425
96%
£453,444
£54,575
£398,869
Plymouth
127
£27,420,475
125
£26,282,975
98%
£328,665
£6,875
£321,790
Portsmouth
68
£17,993,320
64
£15,247,820
94%
£306,974
£42,525
£264,449
Sheffield
124
£24,302,129
122
£22,779,129
98%
£285,701
£26,150
£259,551
Cambridge
21
£12,161,333
11
£4,069,500
52%
£425,983
£181,008
£244,975
Southampton
66
£16,584,290
65
£15,959,290
98%
£249,970
£6,250
£243,720
Liverpool
113
£20,238,505
109
£17,808,510
96%
£252,780
£21,500
£231,280
Newcastle
98
£19,385,275
96
£17,800,275
98%
£228,852
£29,250
£199,602
Leicester
59
£13,182,500
57
£11,939,500
97%
£169,990
£12,150
£157,840
Nottingham
84
£15,354,012
82
£14,219,012
98%
£150,975
£6,750
£144,225
ENGLAND overall
20,238
£6,741,384,354
17,254
£4,161,766,995
85%
£188,942,507
£80,815,821
£108,126,686
Major UK Cities
All transactions count (since 8th July)
All transactions value (since 8th July)
Stamp duty exempt transactions count up to £500k
Stamp duty exempt transactions value
Stamp duty exempt trans as % of all trans
Stamp duty owed prior to the holiday
Stamp duty paid due to the holiday
Total stamp duty saving
Wandsworth
123
£129,429,019
23
£8,485,200
19%
£7,483,286
£5,781,207
£1,702,079
Bromley
131
£76,302,315
68
£25,768,570
52%
£2,850,216
£1,288,187
£1,562,029
Croydon
117
£52,578,913
80
£28,804,673
68%
£1,499,799
£284,837
£1,214,962
Barnet
88
£72,022,150
28
£10,711,400
32%
£3,823,290
£2,660,300
£1,162,990
Richmond upon Thames
80
£76,850,801
24
£9,335,500
30%
£4,266,163
£3,198,788
£1,067,375
Havering
90
£40,605,300
65
£24,125,000
72%
£1,161,090
£225,265
£935,825
Merton
78
£57,812,005
40
£14,979,750
51%
£2,924,548
£2,002,313
£922,235
Hillingdon
83
£40,015,000
51
£18,333,000
61%
£1,190,670
£295,350
£895,320
Waltham Forest
74
£37,790,450
38
£14,438,000
51%
£1,155,538
£267,623
£887,915
Lewisham
86
£43,614,794
56
£19,674,294
65%
£1,503,302
£617,700
£885,602
Lambeth
69
£45,916,750
31
£12,507,250
45%
£1,790,838
£905,475
£885,363
Bexley
92
£38,068,000
69
£23,765,000
75%
£1,009,325
£151,000
£858,325
Kingston upon Thames
68
£45,674,769
27
£10,147,950
40%
£1,816,363
£958,536
£857,828
Southwark
56
£41,594,350
23
£9,436,350
41%
£1,887,908
£1,149,440
£738,468
Hammersmith and Fulham
52
£59,344,549
9
£3,423,600
17%
£3,726,972
£2,999,292
£727,680
Kensington and Chelsea
49
£121,634,320
2
£760,000
4%
£10,919,595
£10,196,595
£723,000
Camden
50
£56,586,750
7
£2,717,000
14%
£3,374,845
£2,663,995
£710,850
Enfield
66
£36,109,750
42
£14,690,749
64%
£1,389,200
£701,650
£687,550
Ealing
59
£38,956,400
32
£11,544,450
54%
£1,707,470
£1,043,898
£663,573
Sutton
67
£31,300,300
44
£14,768,800
66%
£950,927
£288,325
£662,602
Haringey
52
£30,735,244
24
£9,204,648
46%
£1,094,113
£448,980
£645,133
Westminster
44
£66,476,757
5
£2,103,757
11%
£5,052,938
£4,412,750
£640,188
Harrow
49
£30,472,712
18
£6,875,212
37%
£1,123,411
£490,900
£632,511
Hounslow
54
£35,034,500
28
£10,159,500
52%
£1,599,315
£971,170
£628,145
Greenwich
55
£31,738,168
30
£10,452,900
55%
£1,256,935
£650,502
£606,434
Islington
41
£34,488,700
9
£3,910,000
22%
£1,675,550
£1,090,050
£585,500
Redbridge
55
£25,006,500
33
£11,496,000
60%
£712,235
£130,025
£582,210
Brent
47
£33,070,860
23
£8,440,450
49%
£1,498,994
£943,971
£555,023
Tower Hamlets
46
£24,927,300
27
£10,645,000
59%
£828,115
£280,865
£547,250
Hackney
39
£27,661,450
17
£6,975,000
44%
£1,212,568
£703,818
£508,750
Newham
29
£12,106,167
24
£9,229,499
83%
£317,318
£18,833
£298,485
Barking and Dagenham
20
£6,497,000
20
£6,497,000
100%
£126,965
£0
£126,965
City of London
6
£4,970,000
0
£0
0%
£234,050
£144,050
£90,000
London overall
2115
£1,505,392,043
1017
£374,405,502
48%
£73,163,850
£47,965,688
£25,198,161
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About the Author
Established in 1958, Benham and Reeves is one of London’s oldest, independently owned property lettings and sales agents. With specialism in residential sales, corporate lettings and property management in prime areas of London, the company operates from 21 prominently located branches and 14 international offices.