THE STAMP duty holiday saved Wokingham movers more than £31 million – the highest in the Thames Valley.
In all, there were 2,862 homes sold during the period when the chancellor dropped or reduced the tax on transactions below £500,000.
The discount ran from July last year, with the tax holiday tapered from July 1 this year through to the end of September, when the duty returned to normal levels.
Last week, the government released its latest house price index providing the first concrete view of the market in September of this year when the curtain finally fell on the stamp duty holiday.
In the first phase, when no stamp duty was payable on the first £500,000 of transactions, Wokingham movers saved a total of £30,884,224.
When this threshold was then reduced to purchases up to £250,000 between July 1 and September 30, there was a saving of and £135,319 in the second phase, making a total saving of £31,019,543.
In neighbouring Reading, there were 1,974 house moves, saving of £13,687,429 in the first phase and then £134,190 in the second, making the total saved £13,821,619.
Reading borough was one of the lowest levels of moving activity in the Thames Valley. Only in Slough were there fewer transactions. Just 993 homes were sold in the period, saving £7,568,178.
Bracknell Forest saw 2,014 transactions and £17,380,292 saved.
Windsor and Maidenhead saw 2,183 homes sold, saving £26,175,881, and West Berkshire saw 2,426 homes sold, but the stamp duty saving was lower, at £21,603,607.
The figures were compiled by London-based lettings and estate agent Benham and Reeves, that noted that London as a whole saved £1.015 billion during the first phase of the stamp duty holiday, and a further £4.3 million in the second phase.
Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, said: “When analysing the market by borough the pandemic influence of the last 18 months or so is clear to see.
“Transactions and, as a result, the total stamp duty saving were far higher across London’s more peripheral boroughs where buyers were able to buy bigger and with more outdoor space.”
