Stamp duty extension sparks rise in house prices - with Chesterfield outperforming nearby Sheffield

Nationwide’s latest house price index shows annual home price growth rebounded to 7.1 per cent in April, from 5.7 per cent in March.

Prices rose 2.1 per cent, the biggest monthly rise since February 2004 to a record high average price of £238,831, up £15,916 over the past year.

While house prices in Chesterfield are up 9 per cent in the past year, compared with just 7 per cent in Sheffield according to Graysons Solicitors, of Saltergate, which looked at Land Registry data.

The firm’s conveyancing team said the stamp duty holiday extension and introduction of 95 per cent mortgages were fuelling demand.

Caroline Murray, partner and head of Graysons’ property team, said: “The market is clearly very fast-moving at the moment.

“The extension of the stamp duty holiday, to September 30, 2021, and the introduction of 95 per cent mortgages, available until the end of 2022, as well as the success of the vaccination roll-out, have clearly boosted confidence in the market and encouraged people to make the move.

Busier than ever

“Our conveyancers are busier than ever and are taking a huge number of enquiries at the moment, both from first-time buyers and those looking to move home.

“We would certainly agree prices are up and houses are selling more quickly than ever – and see no sign of this activity slowing over the coming months.”

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “Just as expectations of the end of the stamp duty holiday led to a slowdown in house price growth in March, so the extension of the stamp duty holiday in the Budget prompted a reacceleration in April.

“However, our research suggests that, while the stamp duty holiday, is impacting the timing of housing transactions, for most people it is not the key motivating factor prompting them to move in the first place.

"For example, among homeowners surveyed at the end of April that were either moving home or considering a move, three-quarters said this would have been the case even if the stamp duty holiday had not been extended.”

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