A continued rush of demand in the housing market to beat the stamp duty holiday means that potentially over 100,000 more sales will be completed between December and the end of March.According to Zoopla’s House Price Index, this is set to be caused by one of the strongest Decembers in a decade as well as an additional spike in demand in January.
The catalyst for this demand, as well as much of the continued demand in the housing market since its reopening in May, was a reduction in stamp duty which means that many sales will have zero stamp duty required until 31st March 2021.This has had some effects on both residential and commercial property conveyancing, as the massive rush of demand for residential conveyancing services has led to delays and backlogs in the system, at one of the busiest times for the market.
The average time between a property ending up on the market and finding a buyer is 49 days according to Rightmove, which means that many sales will be agreed in January to have enough time to allow the conveyancing process to complete before the end of the deadline.The key to helping speed up the process is to ensure that all of the steps of the process that are in your hands are undertaken as soon as possible, potentially before you start searching.
Ensure your credit and affordability checks are completed, complete the ID, instruction and any other forms you are provided, and keep in touch during the process to ensure they have everything they need to facilitate your sale.