ONE of Worcestershire’s leading residential property lawyers has praised the Government’s Stamp Duty Land Tax reduction for giving a ‘shot in the arm’ to speed up the county’s housing market.

David Faulkner, an associate at mfg Solicitors, says that the temporary Stamp Duty holiday on any home under £500,000 is having an effect with the firm dealing with hundreds of new transactions since the tax threshold was temporarily raised to boost the market because of the coronavirus crisis.

The temporary change, which came into place on 8 July, will run until 31 March next year and only applies in England and Northern Ireland.

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Mr Faulkner said: “The coronavirus crisis has had a negative impact on the housing market here in Worcestershire and during April and May sales slowed to record low levels.

“However, the Chancellor’s move to raise the threshold has helped to turn that on its head and given confidence back to buyers and pushed sellers to complete transactions quickly.

“That is great news as the average Stamp Duty bill is believed to have fallen by around £4,500. People can see the holiday allows them to save thousands of pounds, money which instead is being used on home improvements and therefore also helping the building and DIY sectors.

“It has been a win, win situation, and overall, it has been a shot in the arm for the sector - helping people move into their new homes at a pace not seen for many years.”

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As part of the government's changes to stamp duty, if you purchase a residential property between July 8, 2020 to March 31, 2021, you only start to pay SDLT on the amount that you pay for the property above £500,000.

These rates apply whether you are buying your first home or have owned property before.

Based at mfg’s Bromsgrove office, Mr Faulkner has acted on residential property sales and purchases for over 25 years.

He added that despite confusion, a three per cent surcharge still applies for those, such as landlords, buying additional residential properties over £40,000.