KIS Finance has reported a 121% increase in bridging loan enquiries since the Government announced the stamp duty holiday on 8 July.

The independent bridging loan broker said this was in comparison to the average number of enquiries, per month, in the three months from the beginning of April leading up to Rishi Sunak’s announcement in July.

KIS Finance highlighted that the number of bridging loan enquiries were lower in those three months compared to last year, but added that due to inactivity in the housing market during the UK lockdown, the stamp duty temporary reduced rates had stimulated a ‘mini-boom’ in the housing market.

In turn, this has seen a much faster recovery in the bridging and short-term lending market than the loan broker said it was expecting.

People who were planning to move house anyway are now “speeding up house purchases in order to take advantage of the stamp duty relief”, the broker suggested, with bridging finance being used to secure their purchase before selling their current property.

KIS Finance stated: “Although the stamp duty holiday is in place until March 2021, it has acted as a psychological boost for those already planning to buy and its created almost a deadline for moving house.

“We have also seen that many people are desperate to move to larger homes with gardens, after being stuck in a small property and working from home during lockdown, as some fear another lockdown or are facing the prospect of working from home on a permanent basis. These two factors are making buyers act quickly and are partly responsible for this surge in activity.”

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