Stamp Duty Surge for Britain

Just over a third (36%) of residential transactions were liable for SDLT in the opening three months of this year, compared to two-thirds (67%) in the same period in 2020.

The number of property sales above £500,000 has rocketed by 132% since last year, according to Stamp Duty data from HMRC, and a record number of homes sold for more than £1m in Q1.

The volume of transactions over £500k jumped by 132%, from 23,400 in Q1 2020 to 54,400 in Q1 2021. Of these, 8,300 SDLT-liable resi transactions were recorded above £1m in the first three months of this year, according to analysis by Search Acumen; 9% more than the 7,600 in Q1 2019, and more than in other Q1 period on record.

Official records show that total SDLT transactions in Q1 2021 jumped by 48% compared to the same period last year, but came in at around the same level as in Q4 2020. Residential property transactions in Q1 2021 were 2% higher than in Q4 2020 – and 53% higher than in Q1 2020.

“The increase in transactions in the last 3 quarters have likely been impacted by the introduction of the SDLT holiday for residential properties,” explains the HMRC team, “helping offset the decrease caused by COVID-19 impacts.”

Just over a third (36%) of residential transactions were liable for SDLT in the opening three months of this year, compared to two-thirds (67%) in the same period in 2020. This is largely because of the introduction of the Stamp Duty holiday on the 8 July 2020, which effectively raised the zero-rate threshold to £500k for most homes.

Receipts from residential transactions, meanwhile, were similar (within 1%) in Q1 2021 to both Q4 2020 and Q1 2020.