The housing market benefitted from the ending of a two year stamp duty holiday that concluded on March 24.  In a rush to take advantage of the possible savings first time buyers came out in higher numbers.  According to the data released from Connells Survey and Valuation the total number of residential valuations that were conducted in Q1 of 2012 amounted to an increase of 10 per cent over the previous quarter.  It also was an increase of 34 per cent over the same time last year.

There was also an increase in demand likely due to the increase in interest rates being offered from lenders.  A more cautious outlook by lenders as well as an increase in the cost of lending has led to the cheaper deals being pulled and replaced with higher interest rates.

John Bagshaw, corporate services director of Connells Survey and Valuation remarked, “The rush to complete before the end of the stamp duty holiday provided a leg up to the valuations market in the first quarter of the year, but first-timers were by no means the only group to benefit.

“The increasing number of first-timers freed up property chains, allowing existing home movers to move up the ladder. We’ve also seen a strong demand from buyers looking to move early, ahead of the disruption of the Olympics and the Jubilee in the summer, which has supported activity in March.

“However there are financial clouds on the horizon, with the increased wholesale funding costs for lenders likely to affect the recently improving credit conditions. The next few months will prove to be the real barometer for the housing market, as it copes with both the end of the stamp duty holiday and the introduction of the 7% tax rate for £2m properties announced in the budget.”