Rightmove records busiest day ever as demand surges

The chancellor’s decision to temporarily cut stamp duty has led to a surge in property searches, according to Rightmove. 

The property website attracted 8.5 million visits on Wednesday following the chancellor’s announcement relating to stamp duty, up from the previous day which was a record at 7.7 million. 

There has been a significant increase in demand from buyers, including buy-to-let investors, over the past few weeks. 

Rightmove reports that the number of people phoning and emailing estate agents about property for sale hit a new record on Wednesday, up 1% on the previous record set on 11th June and up 93% on the same day in 2019. 

Rightmove’s property expert Miles Shipside said: “This move [to cut stamp duty] will help to keep the nation and wider economy moving because keeping the current momentum going will help prevent destabilising falls in property prices as unemployment grows, and enable a quicker economic recovery.”

Enquiries about new-build homes also hit a record, up 21% on the previous record set back on 11th June. 

Meanwhile, requests from potential sellers via Rightmove to have their home valued hit a record high, up 35% on the previous record set back on 22nd June and up 89% on the same day in 2019.

Shipside added: “Lockdown prevented 175,000 would-be sellers from coming to market so we hope this stamp duty holiday will provide the spur for those missing movers to come to market. They will find there’s currently record demand for their properties from prospective buyers, with Rightmove enquiries to agents now double what they were before lockdown. 

“Home-movers will be grateful that the changes come into effect straight away so they don’t have to delay their plans, and what we could see now is people rushing to get a price agreed before some sellers put their prices up in the hope people will be able to pay more because of the tax savings.”

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