According to the 846 online interviews undertaken by BVA BDRC between December and January, just 14 per cent of landlords who want to purchase before the end of March will abort a transaction if they are unable to benefit from the tax break.
Further adding to the sentiment that the stamp duty holiday was not a driving force for landlords, just four per cent said they were purchasing because of it. A quarter said they would hold off purchases in 2021 as they believed incentives had inflated house prices.
Of those who will continue with purchases, 65 per cent said they were very or quite confident they would complete before the deadline.
There was still some hope of an extension to the deadline, according to 28 per cent of respondents. Some 31 per cent were less optimistic, saying they did not expect the government to extend the stamp duty holiday.
Overall, 16 per cent of landlords said they would purchase property over the next 12 months, with the highest share of respondents planning to do so in the first quarter of this year.
Of those planning to expand their portfolio this year, 48 per cent said they would do so in Q1, likely driven by the tax break. Some 41 per cent intended to purchase in Q2, 28 per cent in Q3 and 29 per cent in Q4.
George Gee, commercial director at Foundation Home Loans, said: “As we know landlords think long and hard before adding to their portfolios and, as our research reveals, they are unlikely to just confine any purchase activity to the first quarter of this year in order to simply benefit from the stamp duty holiday.
“There are a number of positive results to come out of our exclusive research, not least landlords’ continued intention to keep on purchasing after the deadline has passed, and the news that many landlords will not abort their transactions if there is no extension and they look unlikely to complete by 31 March.”
Important times ahead
Gee added: “In that regard, the next month and a half are very important for the sector.
“Looking beyond Q1, there will clearly be ongoing opportunities for advisers active in the landlord borrower space, and all the signals point to significant activity taking place in both the purchase and remortgage sectors.
“We should not forget that many landlords’ special rates are coming to an end over the months ahead, especially those that bought prior to the last stamp duty surcharge increase for additional homeowners back in Q1 2016.”
