UK, 24 July 2020: Potential homebuyers are rushing to secure a mortgage following the stamp duty reduction announced by the Chancellor.
On 8 July, Rishi Sunak unveiled an immediate stamp duty holiday for homes sold for up to £500,000 in England and Northern Ireland until 31 March next year.
In the 14 days since the announcement there has been 29% growth in mortgage enquiries via Experian’s mortgage comparison service*. Of these, house purchase leads make up a higher proportion of searches than remortgages, further reinforcing the impact of the stamp duty change.
Comparison services such as Experian’s enable people to compare current market offers and get an idea of both their affordability and eligibility.
Amir Goshtai, Managing Director, Experian Marketplace said: Since the Chancellor’s announcement of a stamp duty holiday, we’ve seen a surge in people searching for mortgages, demonstrating its immediate impact. Mortgage product availability is starting to grow to meet this demand, as lenders reintroduce products back to market, including higher loan to value ranges. The announcement should also help more people qualify for these products as the stamp duty holiday enables them to provide a larger deposit.
[To ensure that the stamp duty changes have maximum impact, it’s important that lenders have confidence that the loans they are proposing are affordable for borrowers and will be repaid. As well as credit scores and reports, lenders will take into account other information, such as information from your application form, and sometimes your bank account, to consider whether you can afford the new payments. This makes it particularly important to plan ahead, use a broker or eligibility service to help you find the right lender and make sure all your finances are in the best shape possible before applying for a mortgage.]
ENDS
Notes to editors:
*This is based on an analysis of mortgage enquiries, comparing volumes for the 2 weeks since the Chancellor’s announcement (8-21 July) were up 29% on the previous 2 weeks (24 Jun – 7 Jul). Mortgage enquiries are defined as mortgages searches via Experian’s comparison service that then leads to an enquiry with our partner broker L&C.
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