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"Buyers who dragged their heels are now pulling out in droves" ahead of stamp duty deadline

ended 26. February 2025

Brokers and property experts have said they have seen a rise in the number of property transactions falling through as people realise they have missed the chance of beating the stamp duty deadline. One, Jamie Elvin, Director at Strive Mortgages, said: “Buyers who dragged their heels are now pulling out in droves, realising they’ve missed the stamp duty boat.” Meanwhile, Steve Humphrey, Adviser at The Mortgage Pod, added: “We’ve definitely experienced fall-throughs as a direct result of the upcoming stamp duty changes.” Views will appear below until 14:30.

 

4 responses from the Newspage community

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Rohit Kohli
Director at The Mortgage Stop
We're starting to see some people pulling out of deals if it looks like they won't meet the deadline in time. Today, one of our clients had their seller change their mind due to delays in the chain below and solicitors being unable to offer any commitments to complete by 31st March. This is just likely to increase in the coming weeks. It's disappointing that the government left this cliff edge in place as it's causing issues in the marketplace that could have been avoided.
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Jamie Elvin
Director at Strive Mortgages
We’re seeing a classic case of ‘blink and you miss it’ in the property market. Buyers who dragged their heels are now pulling out in droves, realising they’ve missed the stamp duty boat. With mortgage rates stabilising, some may gamble on a better deal down the line—but for sellers, it’s a game of musical chairs. The next few weeks could be a bumpy ride as uncertainty rattles chains and transactions teeter on the edge.
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Justin Moy
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
We saw the same issue when we had preferential Stamp Duty in 2021: you get a cliff-edge of transactions that won't be completed on time. The paper-heavy process of buying and selling property will be a huge factor, especially leasehold properties that seem to take forever to complete given the rigorous checking required. An extension would be useful if the government do want to help, as some Stamp Duty revenue is better than none from those failed transactions.
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Steve Humphrey
Adviser & Founder at The Mortgage Pod
We’ve definitely experienced fall-throughs as a direct result of the upcoming stamp duty changes. However, with fewer than five weeks to go, the benchmark should now be clear. Our calculations have been based on the increased rates for some time. Any buyer with a newly agreed sale or purchase expecting to beat the increases is setting themselves up to fail and could really benefit from some advice. Naturally, when the total cost of buying a property is set to increase, buyers' budgets and affordability are likely to decrease, which could contribute to a slowdown in the market, something I believe we’re already seeing. Our advice to clients, however, is always to focus on the things within their control, such as savings and reducing outgoings, rather than things outside their control, like government legislation or stamp duty changes.