When first-time buyer Stamp Duty relief finishes in March 2012, buyers are expected to rush to complete before the tax rises to 1% again for properties worth between £125 and £250,000.
Rightmove spokesman, Miles Shipside, said: “A further and more financially significant deadline is the ending of first-time buyer stamp duty relief on the 25 of March next year. The nil-rate threshold will fall from £250,000 to £125,000, so first-time buyers should be aware that they must have completed their purchase by that date to avoid paying stamp duty of 1% of their purchase price.”
New sellers increased asking prices by 0.7% across the UK in September, making up some of the ground lost over the Summer. Sellers lost 3% of asking prices or £7,255 over the three months of the summer downturn, weakened further by stagnant market conditions.
This month is the third anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which triggered the freeze in credit markets and wholesale mortgage funding. Rightmove said it is worrying that Rightmove’s key metrics have not changed since, indicating the recovery still remains on hold until the lending squeeze eases.
Homes are on the market for an average of 94 days, so with Christmas 98 days away buyers will have to take action to be in a new home before Christmas day.
Prospective buyers do not feel any urgency to make an offer and conclude a purchase.
Forced sales remain low and new sellers’ average asking prices are also little changed compared to September 2008, when the average price of a property coming to market was £227,438.
