Keller Williams UK analysed property sold price records for residential transactions in England since the introduction of the stamp duty holiday. They then looked at the number of transactions exempt from paying stamp duty as a percentage of all transactions and the total saving made by homebuyer above and below the £500,000 threshold.
The data shows 147,969 transactions have completed to the tune of more than £50.3m in value since 8th July last year.
A notable 125,389 (85%) of these transactions have fallen within the £500,000 price bracket meaning they’re exempt from paying stamp duty due to the current holiday.
Before the stamp duty holiday, the 147,969 homebuyers to have already completed since 8th July last year would have paid an eye-watering £1.444bn in stamp duty.
Thanks to the reprieve in place, stamp duty tax paid since July of last year totals just £627.467m at present, with more homebuyers still due to benefit as a result. That’s a stamp duty saving of £817m
With homebuyers saving £5.6m a day so far, Keller Williams forecasts the total saving come the end of March could be as high as £1.5bn.
Homebuyers in London have seen by far the most significant saving compared to other major UK cities. Keller Williams UK estimates the capital has seen a stamp duty saving of £190m alone, with 49% of all transactions also paying no tax at all having completed below the £500,000 threshold.
In contrast, a more affordable price tag across other regional cities means the saving has been far less pronounced, although the benefit has arguably been greater.
In Sunderland, for example, 99.7% of residential transactions have been stamp duty exempt. While this saving equates to just £599,349, it has seen the amount of stamp duty paid hit just £12,025 compared to £611,374 in normal market conditions; a considerable saving for homebuyers in the city.
Ben Taylor, CEO of Keller Williams UK, commented: "While many will grumble about the current market backlogs and the level of homebuyers who could miss out on a stamp duty saving, there’s no denying it has been monumentally beneficial.
"Not only has it helped revive the market from a demand standpoint, but homebuyers have saved a tremendous amount of money.
"Although this saving has been more pronounced across the more inflated pockets of the market, a far higher percentage of homebuyers in more affordable areas have paid no stamp duty whatsoever.”
