Fall through rates tumble ahead of stamp duty deadline

A combination of the stamp duty holiday deadline and an imbalance of demand vs stock saw the volume of property sales collapsing drop to just 11% during Q3.

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Property Reporter
8th October 2021
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The unusually low quarterly figure is 28% down on the previous quarter and has resulted in year-to-date fall through rates of 25%.

Danny Luke, managing director of Quick Move Now, who supplied the data, said: “The fall through rate for the last three months is really quite shockingly low. We know that without any mitigating factors the fall through rate will typically sit at around 25 to 35 per cent. Of course, we are not currently in ‘typical’ times.

“With the stamp duty holiday coming to an end at the start of the month, much analysis is being done on the merits and downfalls of the measures.

“Fans of the measures say the stamp duty holiday gave the property market a much needed ‘shot in the arm’ to get things going again after lockdown. However, critics suggest that it has done untold damage to the property market, artificially inflating prices and increasing the chances of a market crash.

“Whichever side of the fence you are on, the figures clearly indicate that the current property market is a very unusual one. This fall-through rate is the lowest we have seen since we started recording levels in 2006.

“The current high-demand, low-supply market has left buyers desperate to make each sale work, knowing that they may struggle to find another property if it doesn’t. The end of the stamp duty holiday has also, undoubtedly, had an impact on the number of sales being rushed through to completion in order for the buyer to benefit from the financial savings.

“Current low stock levels mean the majority of people who are moving have a strong need to do so. They are serious and committed to the move, which ultimately results in a lower fall through rate.”

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