Reforms to stamp duty and the ongoing plans to overhaul homebuying rules could help bring hundreds of thousands of properties to the market, research suggests.
Estate agency brand Jackson-Stops’ latest Housing Mobility Report suggests greater certainty over home moving timelines could unlock more than 260,000 owner-occupied homes for the housing market in England within less than a year, with the figure rising to more than 700,000 owner-occupied homes over the next three years.
The analysis also suggests that removing stamp duty costs, a potential policy of prime ministerial hopeful Andy Burnham, could bring more than 300,000 owner-occupied homes to the market across England within less than a year.
The report estimates that figure could rise to more than 750,000 owner-occupied homes over three years.
ON THE MOVE
The estimates are based on English Housing Survey data and a poll of thousands of owner-occupiers in England who said stamp duty costs had caused them to delay, postpone or abandon moving plans in the last five years, who had not yet moved, and who said they would be likely to move within stated timeframes if this barrier was removed.
Nick Leeming, chairman of Jackson-Stops, says: “Our Housing Mobility Report highlights an industry-wide challenge facing the English housing market, with would-be movers hesitating before they even begin.
“The Government’s proposed reforms are a positive and necessary step. Measures that improve upfront information sharing, strengthen professional standards and provide greater certainty earlier in the process should help buyers and sellers move with more confidence.
PHASED REFORMS
“The key now will be implementation, ensuring the reforms are phased carefully, clearly understood by consumers and workable for the agents, conveyancers, lenders and other professionals who will need to deliver them in practice.
“The market is active, and people continue to buy and sell homes every day. But our research indicates there is a sizeable group sitting behind that activity. People who could move, and in many cases would like to move, but who need greater confidence in the process in order to do so.”
