We're delighted to welcome accomplished agent Jonathan Handford onto Kerfuffle's list of Key Industry Influncers. Here are his thoughts on the stamp duty holiday. Do you agree? Leave your comments below.
Back in July 2020 when Rishi Sunak announced the stamp duty holiday I immediately made an announcement on social media saying it was a bad idea. Not the logic of stimulating the housing market in a pandemic with an incentive to encourage people to buy and sell. But the logic of an incentive that will encourage yet another boom and bust market cycle. The pending cliff face deadline is now looming closer and there are scores of people who are edging closer to the precipice without any guarantee that their move will happen. Yes you could argue they had enough of a window to be able to orchestrate a move. But I know of many that executed their plans as soon as they could and yet still face the possibility of missing the deadline through no fault of their own.
This isn’t a deadline for someone to submit tax returns or make a PPI claim. A house move is subject to complicated mechanics. There are lots of moving parts that all need to work in unison. A chain can have half a dozen links and all but one element might be back in time which would be enough to cancel the chain for all involved. Any estate agent on the coal face that is worth their weight in salt knows that the last week of March will be a logistical nightmare. There are only so many conveyancers, and removal firms that can conclude the work. The deadline should be tapered or any documented sales that have been agreed should be given a simple extension or 3 month window to conclude. It’s an easy fix that would alleviate all of this unnecessary pressure on everyone involved.
An even better solution would be to permanently adjust the SDLT levels altogether. I am convinced the extra transactions would negate the losses the government have made from reducing the liability. If 15% of GDP is the housing market then keep it moving.
You can have a look at Jonathan's key influencer page here to find out more about his career and favourite suppliers, books and quotes.
