Mortgage rise due to Stamp Duty rush

Date:Friday 22nd January 2010
Author: Max Freedman

The rise in the number of mortgage deals made in December was down to homebuyers rushing to beat stamp duty, according to the National Association for Estate Agents (NAEA).

A 14 per cent increase in the amount of people taking out a mortgage between November and December 2009 was because consumers were attempting to beat the one per cent tax that was being reintroduced on January 1st, rather than economic recovery.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders announced its figures recently, stating that gross lending reached £13.7 billion last month.

Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA, said that if there is a large drop in the number of people borrowing this month, it will illustrate that the withdrawal of the tax holiday was a mistake and will be a difficult point for the government to deny.

He added that the real impact will be seen when the figures for this month are revealed.