The divide is only going to get wider - Comment on the property transactions from HMRC from Richard Pike at Phoebus Software

22 April 2021

Richard Pike, Phoebus Software sales and marketing director, says “Looking at the March figures from HMRC this morning we can see how the first lockdown in March 2020 was already affecting the housing market. Even as we prepared for the original end to the SDLT holiday this year the non-seasonally adjusted estimate is more than double that in March last year. It’s quite a staggering statistic and the disparity is set to continue. It is definitely a case of comparing apples with oranges. In fact, when comparing 2021 transactions to 2020, the divide is only going to get wider in the coming months.

“So perhaps we should be looking forward instead. With the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme now up and running and lenders committing to 95% mortgages, we will see the first-time buyer market grow. However, lenders still see these small deposit mortgages as more risky and the interest rates being quoted reflect this. With some close to 4%, when those with 25% deposit are enjoying rates around 1%, there is a danger that FTBs will still find that overall affordability is an issue. Nonetheless, the scheme is there to help more people with low deposits get onto the property ladder and I’m sure that will be the case.