The stamp duty holiday was put into place last year in the hopes to keep the housing market in play. It is essential to the UK economy and if the pandemic had shut it down the impact could have been dramatically negative. With the tax discount it was hoped it would help motivate hopeful home buyers to stay interested in the housing market. As everyone knows, the housing market flourished last year and continues even now as not only first time buyers seek to climb onto the property ladder but homeowners chose to move home as well.

The stamp duty holiday no doubt was a benefit to those seeking to buy. How much of a motivator it was could not be fully determined as there were other factors that were making the housing market attractive. Low interest rates were making borrowing cheap, and there was a strong desire to find a home that served the pandemic lifestyle.

During the pandemic many found their dwelling to be less than perfect to make lockdowns comfortable. In fact, it built a desire to have a home that could better serve as a place to work from home, a place for children to study and learn, space for fitness needs and working out, areas for home entertainment, and for some, a garden that offered a safe place to be outdoors when restrictions were in place.

Home buyers flooded the housing market and house prices surged. Demand outweighed supply and despite higher asking prices sales continued. There was a race for space some called it. 

Initially the stamp duty holiday had a deadline for the end of March. The pandemic was still causing problems and rather than have demand fall quickly at the end of the deadline, it was decided it would be extended to the end of June where the tax relief would be reduced and would completely end on 30 September.

The extension boosted sales according to reports and with a second chance to save in sight buyers pushed to complete a purchase as soon as possible. Now the first deadline has come and gone and it was expected there would be a slowdown to indicate that the savings was a strong motivator to buy.

Currently, it appears that the reports for June will show that the housing market sales remained strong. It will be the reports from July that will tell the real story. The savings from the tax holiday could have been a strong motivator or just another benefit made possible during a time when the real motivator was finding a home to best fit a new mindset brought about by the pandemic.