08 Mar How the Budget announcement affects the property market

It’s that time of year again when we hold our breath and wait for that red briefcase to be held up for the obligatory photo op in front of number 10! In the last 12 months we have spent a number of afternoons and evening collectively holding our breath for an announcement from Downing Street.

This latest announcement was the Annual Budget for 2021 delivered, in Parliament by the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak. The Budget statement outlines the state of the economy and the Government’s proposals for changes to taxation and also includes forecasts for the economy from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

We’re going to take a look at how the announcement will affect our industry. If you are looking for estate agents in Langley or Burnham make sure that you contact us to speak about your property options, you can call us on 01753 546655 for Langley, 01628 666666 for our Burnham branch or drop us an email.

Stamp Duty Holiday Extension

Who doesn’t love an extended holiday? We are delighted that the Government has decided to extend the Stamp Duty Holiday until the end of June 2021. This means that more people will be able to get their move completed and still make amazing savings on their property.

The Stamp Duty Holiday was brought in last year to stimulate the property market and set the economy on the road to recovery and it has helped hundreds of thousands of people in the UK to buy a home and support the economy at such a critical time.

The extension means that buyers will have until June 30^th to complete on their purchase in order to take advantage of the savings on offer.

In order to avoid the same ‘cliff edge’ come the end of June, there will be a transition period during which the nil rate band will be £250,000 (double the standard level) until the end of September. The usual threshold of £125,000 will return on October 1^st.

The extension means that a further 234,000 buyers who have already agreed a sale will save an estimated £987m on Stamp Duty; and those who agree a sale from now will be guaranteed savings of up to £2,500 as long as they complete before the end of September.

Mortgages

The good news doesn’t stop with Stamp Duty. The Government has also announced that it is introducing a mortgage guarantee scheme to help first-time buyers and existing homeowners! Under the new scheme, launching in April, buyers will be able to purchase homes worth up to £600,000 with as little as 5% deposit.

We all know how challenging it can be saving for a 10-15% deposit as a first-time buyer, especially if you’re having to pay rent at the same time. Lenders who are signed up for the scheme will have to sell mortgage products worth up to 95% of a property’s price. In return, the Government will act as a guarantor to repay lenders some of their losses if the buyers default on their mortgage repayments.

All the usual affordability checks will still apply, however, now buyers will need to provide evidence to their lender that they can comfortably afford the monthly repayments after other essential spending has been covered.

If you would like to speak to our recommended independent mortgage broker contact Nazcot Financial on 01753 439000, email for more information.

Get in Touch

So, if you would like to speak to the leading estate agents in Burnham and Langley, make sure you give us a call on 01753 546655 for Langley 01628 666666 for our Burnham branch or even drop us an email. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.