Lockdown demand remains high with new sellers pricing keenly to complete before the stamp duty holiday which ends next March.

Buyer demand remains high according to Rightmove as new seller pricing competitively in order to secure a sale and complete before the stamp duty deadline in March 2021.

Demand from first time buyers and home movers is strongest in regions where there is the largest stamp duty land tax (SDLT) savings such as London and the South East.

Sales agreed nationwide are 50% higher than October last year, the regions where properties are more expensive in East of England are up 72% and South East are higher by 69%.

London with large stamp duty savings

The stamp duty holiday benefits expensive properties and buyers in London can save the most up to £15,000 based on the average asking price of £630,634.

Property priced between £100,000 to £200,000 have seen sales up 16% compared to last year whereas sales are up 106% for properties between £400,000 and £500,000.

The table from Rightmove shows the average asking prices for UK regions and stamp duty land tax (SDLT) saved if sales are completed before the March 2021 deadline.

Region	Asking price	SDLT saving
London	£630,634	£15,000
South East	£417,592	£10,880
East of England	£366,223	£8,311
South West	£321,665	£6,083
East Midlands	£245,284	£2,406
West Midlands	£243,507	£2,370
North West	£215,616	£1,812
Yorkshire & Humber	£209,452	£1,689
North East	£161,506	£730

There are significant stamp duty gains for first time buyers in other regions with the South East saving £10,800 with average asking prices of £417,592 and East of England saving £8,311 on prices of £366,223.

With average asking prices of £209,452 in Yorkshire & Humber the stamp duty savings are lower at £1,689 and in the North East the savings are the lowest at £730 with prices of £161,506.

There was a dip in demand when the second lockdown was announced, says Rightmove although demand remained 28% up compared to the same days last year.

In the first six days of the second lockdown demand increased by 49% on this time a year ago as the housing market was allowed to continue as usual.

Older homeowners can avoid the uncertainty of moving with the equity release buyer accessing cash with a lifetime mortgage to repay an interest only mortgage or purchase a new car.

Asking prices dip with keen pricing

The average asking price for property on the market is £322,025 after reducing by -0.5% or -£1,505 in November.

Sellers are being more realistic about the price of property in order to agree a sale and complete before the deadline in March 2021 for buyers to receive the stamp duty savings.

If the asking piece is too high there is less change of selling and a Rightmove study shows you are twice as likely to agree a sale based on the first price for the property.

Asking prices are higher by 6.3% on average over the year and this increases pressure on buy-to-let investors as lenders require 25% deposits and rental incomes to exceed 145% of a notional mortgage interest rate.

Properties at the top of the ladder have the highest rise up 8.4% over the year with average asking prices of £569,692.

The higher prices across the country means remortgage buyers can release capital and use this for home improvements such as upgrading your kitchen or adding an extension such as a home office.

What are your next steps?

Talk to our London City Mortgage brokers for advice if you remortgage your existing home and want the best mortgage deal or release capital, buying your first home, moving home or a buy-to-let investor.

Start with a free mortgage quote or call us and we can take your details. Learn more by using the equity release calculator, mortgage monthly cost calculators, and property value tracker chart.

For older homeowners releasing equity from your property, our LCM mortgage advisers can recommend the lifetime mortgage, accessing wealth to give to a family member or even buy a more expensive home.