Richard James Estate Agents Blog

The first month of the year has been one of the busiest in my career. We have received record number of enquiries from buyers registering on our mailing list, with over a 1,000 potential buyers now looking to purchase.

By far, the most popular enquiry has been from Buy To Let Investors who are keen to purchase a property before the 1st April deadline when a 3% Stamp Duty Surcharge is introduced, imposed on anyone buying a second home.

The demands of Buy To Let investors scrambling for properties has definitely pushed house prices up which has made the task for First Time Buyers even more difficult. We have seen investors outbidding each other in their quest to buy now and save Stamp Duty later.

Will the legal profession be able to cope with the demands to meet the 31st March deadline? Furthermore are vendors across the country fully aware of the risks of having a Buy To Let Investor in their chain and not being able to meet the deadline day? Should sellers avoid Investors and opt to have First Time Buyers in their chain instead, avoiding the pressure? Will chains collapse if all sellers throughout a chain don’t accommodate the demands of the Investor?

The Chancellor certainly has created an artificial frenzy by making these changes on a future date rather than announcing the change with immediate effect. However, these Stamp Duty changes are not a done deal yet as the consultation period ends today and the final details to be announced in the March budget. Could this turn out to be another red herring?

By Easter will houses prices drift as Buy To Let Investors temporarily walk away from the market leaving First Time Buyers to prop up chains? This may also result in properties being available on the market longer giving conventional home buyers more choice.

I feel we are in for an interesting February with more pressure being piled on mortgage lenders, sellers and the legal profession and hoping it won’t end in tears for some!