Stamp duty holiday had huge influence on Sheffield property market

The holiday meant buyers paid no tax on properties under £250,000 until October 1 and sales of these houses soared.

Research by estate and lettings agent Barrows and Forrester shows 77 per cent of properties bought in South Yorkshire this year were priced up to £250,000. This compares to 20 per cent between £251,000 to £500,000, 2 per cent between £501,00 to £750,000 and 1 per cent at £751,000 plus.

The total number of transactions was 7,140.

Neighbouring North Yorkshire had figures of 59 per cent bought at up to £250,000 and a total of 8,109 transactions The research shows just how influential the stamp duty holiday seems to have been in shaping property market activity since the start of the year.

Managing director of Barrows and Forrester James Forrester said:

“While there is always likely to be a larger number of sales at lower price threshold simply due to the affordability of property, It’s clear that the stamp duty holiday has been hugely influential and has shaped the face of the market during the pandemic.

We’ve seen the largest levels of market activity fall within the price bracket at which there remained a saving for the most prolonged period and in many areas, the gap in activity at this level of the market and the rest has been vast.”

Barrows and Forrester analysed property market transactions across every county of England and Wales since the start of the year, looking at which property price threshold had been the most active.

The figures show that across England and Wales as a whole, an estimated 355,827 sales have completed so far this year.

Of these sales, 43 per cent have completed for a price within the £250,000 price threshold. A further 40 per cent of all homes sold so far this year have done so between the £250,001 and £500,000 price threshold. Just 11 per cent have sold for between £501,001 and £750,000, while the £750,001 plus price threshold accounts for just 6 per cent of all transactions.

When analysing the market at county level, the £250,000 price threshold was the most active area of the market across 44 counties, with a further 25 seeing the most sales complete between £250,0001 and £500,000.

Interestingly, no county saw the most market activity between £500,001 and £750,000, while just the City of London was home to the most active market at the £750,000+ price threshold.

The research comes as figures show almost three quarters of houses listed for sale have been sold in Sheffield and South Yorkshire.

Demand is based on the proportion of stock listed as already sold – subject to contract or under offer - as a percentage of all stock listed for sale. For example, if 100 homes are listed and 50 are already sold, the demand score would be 50 per cent.

South Yorkshire’s demand score is 71 per cent compared to the average in England of 64 per cent. That is despite the house prices rising across Sheffield, sometimes by 30 per cent, with the average city price now around £191,000.

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