Extend stamp duty holiday to prevent meltdown, Sunak told

Campaigners are calling on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to extend the stamp duty holiday amid warnings that over 320,000 current buyers will miss out on savings of up to £15,000 if it ends as planned on March 31st. More than 100,000 of them could subsequently pull out of deals - potentially hammering sales volumes, harming the economy and hitting prices. Beth Rudolf, of the Conveyancing Association, said: “If they don't extend the deadline, hundreds of thousands of sales will fail to complete.” Demand and pressures of lockdown mean logistical delays are escalating. The average transaction now takes 20 weeks to complete, up from 12 weeks before the pandemic started.

The Daily Telegraph (12/01/2021)