A scramble by consumers to finish earlier than the stamp obligation vacation began winding down pushed UK home costs to a report excessive in June, official figures present.
Home costs rose by 13.2% over the 12 months to June, sooner than at any level since November 2004, in keeping with the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics (ONS).
Throughout the UK, the typical home value in June was a report £266,000.
It was a rise from £255,000 in Might and beat the previous report, which was set in March, by £10,000.
“In June, UK home costs noticed their highest annual progress since 2004,” mentioned ONS head of costs Mike Hardie.
“This determine, nevertheless, was boosted by giant month-to-month progress, with a rush to finish purchases earlier than modifications to the stamp obligation vacation got here into impact on the finish of June.
“The typical value of UK homes now stands at a report £266,000, which is £31,000 increased than this time final 12 months.”
Costs elevated the quickest in Wales over the 12 months. The 16.7% rise there pushed the typical value to £195,000, the ONS mentioned.
In England costs rose 13.3% to £284,000, in Scotland by 12% to £174,000, and in Northern Eire by 9% to £153,000.
For the seventh month working London was the area with the bottom annual progress, at simply 6.3%.
Final July the Authorities mentioned it could droop the tax that consumers pay when buying a brand new dwelling by a part of the Covid-19 disaster.
In England this meant that consumers wouldn’t must pay any stamp obligation on properties price as much as £500,000. In Scotland and Wales the edge was half that quantity.
“These modifications within the tax paid on housing transactions could have allowed sellers to request increased costs because the consumers’ total prices are diminished,” the ONS mentioned.
The stamp obligation vacation was initially meant to return to an finish on March 31, pushing costs as much as a then report excessive that month.
However the Chancellor prolonged that deadline to June 30 to keep away from a cliff-edge which may have scuppered many transactions.
The stamp obligation vacation was then tapered out by reducing the edge to £250,000 in England till the tip of September.
But in Scotland costs in June nonetheless pushed to a report excessive regardless of the stamp obligation vacation ending there in March.
There are fewer however extra critical inquiries now with most potential consumers displaying a steely dedication to proceed
Jeremy Leaf, Royal Establishment of Chartered Surveyors
George Franks, co-founder of property brokers Radstock Property, mentioned: “The distinctive value progress in Scotland, the place the stamp obligation vacation ended on March 31, highlights how property transactions have been pushed extra by life-style modifications than stamp obligation financial savings.
“The pandemic has modified every thing, with extra individuals working remotely, and that’s mirrored within the stage of annual value progress seen north of the border.
“In lots of respects, the stamp obligation financial savings have been a sideshow to the a lot greater narrative of individuals wanting fully various things from their houses.”
PwC economist Jamie Durham mentioned: “There may be an ongoing shift in preferences in direction of extra spacious properties, affecting the combo of what’s being bought and pushing up common costs.
“Family financial savings have elevated considerably for a lot of through the pandemic, enabling consumers to place extra in direction of their deposit and rising the worth they will afford.”
Jeremy Leaf, a north London property agent and a former residential chairman of the Royal Establishment of Chartered Surveyors, mentioned: “This most complete of all of the housing market surveys confirms the push to beat the start of the stamp obligation taper, which we had been seeing in our workplaces as much as the tip of June.
“Nonetheless, the report is just a little dated so it doesn’t present that the anticipated value correction instantly afterwards didn’t materialise.
“There are fewer however extra critical inquiries now with most potential consumers displaying a steely dedication to proceed, with present transactions hardly ever renegotiated or failing to finish.”
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