HOUSE prices are likely to spike in the wake of the Government’s economic announcements, a leading property association has warned.
The National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) says the stamp duty reduction is already leading to sellers hiking the price of some homes on the market.
Describing the Government’s measures on Friday as an “own goal”, the NAPB’s spokesman Jonathan Rolande, said: “Friday’s Budget, with its tax and stamp duty giveaways, is now sowing the seeds of another round of house price inflation.
“Within just hours of the announcement last week, estate agents and their seller clients were on the phones, attempting to tie up all of the deals that couldn’t quite be done before.
“Conversations with the buyers went along the lines of: ‘You know your offer of £297,000 was refused, well now you can pay that £300,000 that the seller wants… and it won’t cost you a penny.’
“In other words, this ‘free’ money for buyers was quickly going to end up in the pockets of sellers. We can therefore expect to see this stamp duty cut translate into house price rises. Yet with uncertainty now in the mortgage market.
Mr Rolande, founder of House Buy Fast, added: “Buyers and sellers have already begun asking what they should do next. My advice is to be mindful that, right now, a week is an eternity in property. This time next week things may be a lot better, or a lot worse. But for now, it is best to do nothing and await events. As we feared the stamp duty cut was not targeted at those who really need it and, as a result, it is unlikely to be of use to those who are desperately looking to move. This economic own-goal is worrying, but so was Brexit, the pandemic, the energy crisis. And yet, in the end, houses sold and people moved, so we should have some confidence that the market will remain resilient.”
