One in seven UK homes sold every week since tax cut

London

THE UK property market is booming with the number of homes sold within a week more than doubling from last year as Britons scramble to cash in on a tax cut.

One in seven has found a buyer in fewer than seven days since Chancellor Rishi Sunak raised the threshold for paying stamp duty, a home-buying levy, to spur activity in July, said Rightmove. The market stalled when the UK imposed a lockdown due to Covid-19 in March, with viewings banned and transactions delayed.

Homes in London are the slowest to sell, and Scotland, the fastest, the property website said. The greatest demand is for three-bedroom houses.

The stamp-duty holiday, which is due to run until March 31 next year, has ignited a market that was already seeing huge pent-up demand following the reopening of the housing market in May.

But many estate agents doubt that the momentum can be sustained, with fears mounting that the withdrawal of government support programmes could trigger a wave of unemployment. BLOOMBERG