Stamp duty holiday extension2 Mar 2021 13:48
BBC
The stamp duty holiday introduced last year not only propped up the housing market at the start of the crisis, it also drove up the average value of a home by 8.5% in 2020.
That tax break is up at the end of March, and many buyers have found themselves facing big bills if they don't complete their transactions on time. However, Mr Sunak will extend stamp duty holiday to prevent this cliff edge, reports suggest.
The government mortgage guarantee scheme will offer 95% mortgages for houses worth up to £600,000.
It is based on the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, which closed to new loans at the end of 2016, a policy the Treasury said "reinvigorated the market for high loan-to-value lending after the 2008 financial crisis".
But housing charity Shelter said that scheme increased house prices by 1.4%, making housing less affordable for many.