House sales surge as stamp duty deadline looms

• Watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Rebecca Haworth

Estate agents are reporting that there has been a rush on house sales as buyers and sellers scramble to exchange contracts before a midnight deadline on 30 June 2021.

From 1 July the threshold for not paying stamp duty on houses is cut from £500,000 to £250,000.

It means the stamp duty on a £600,000 house will rise from £5,000 to £17,500.

For some the increased threshold, which has been in place during the pandemic, meant huge savings and led to a surge in demand with removal companies turning away work because they're fully booked.

One company, Bishop's Move in Ely, told ITV News Anglia that the number of household moves they dealt with increased by 40% from April to June this year.

Estate agents are warning that demand is expected to continue until at least October when the threshold is reduced back to the pre-pandemic zero rate of £125,000