HOME seekers in Worcestershire are being warned not to delay in taking advantage of the stamp duty holiday.

The government has temporarily increased the stamp duty threshold to £500,000 for property sales in England and Northern Ireland until March 31 next year, to help buyers who have taken a financial hit due to the coronavirus crisis.

Andy Hunt, owner of X-Press Leicestershire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire said the window of opportunity should be taken advantage of by home-buyers.

He said: “The stamp duty holiday has seen us experience one of our busiest periods in the past ten years, as the scheme has proved beneficial for both buyers and sellers.

“While we are working closely with our clients to ensure transactions run as smoothly as possible, we are advising home seekers not to underestimate the time it can take to complete a property transaction.

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“With the average conveyancing process taking around 12-16 weeks, buyers need to act quickly to take advantage of the holiday before it ends on March 31.

“Whilst it is sometimes possible to complete it in as little as a month, various factors can delay the process.

“The sooner you start the property transaction process, the better chance you have of avoiding the 3% tax.”

X-Press provides around 400,000 search reports to conveyancing solicitors each year but has just seen its best September on record with a 30% increase in instructions compared to September 2019 as the housing market has reawakened with vigour post-lockdown.

Mr Hunt added: “The nationwide lockdown forced many of us to spend much more time in our homes than ever before.

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"Large percentages of the population will have found that their homes are no longer suitable for their needs, with changes in flexible working and social distancing changing the space that people want in a home.

“People have also had increasingly more time to research their next property, so we’re not surprised that there has been a recent surge in search reports.”

The firm extended its secure suite of digital services during the pandemic including new insurance and security features to keep most UK property transactions moving.

The stamp duty holiday was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak back in July as part of an “unprecedented” package of financial support.

Costing around £3.8 billion, the stamp duty holiday was designed to kick-start the property market and hopefully offset the worst effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the industry.