Property News

First-time buyers still plagued by stamp duty - 09/05/2006

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Stamp duty is still being paid by thousands of homebuyers despite a large increase in the threshold, according to a survey by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

While the previous two budgets have seen the threshold more than double to £125,000, 50 per cent of first-time buyers and 80 per cent of home movers are still paying the tax, the survey shows.

The payment of stamp duty only worsens the troubles faced by first-time buyers in an increasingly competitive property market, says CML director general Michael Coogan.

"With half of them having to pay stamp duty it is clear that tax continues to add to their affordability problems.

"Reform of stamp duty is long overdue. If it had been uprated in line with house price inflation since 1997 the threshold would stand at £145,000, helping many more first-time buyers onto the property ladder and into their own homes."

A survey by the Woolwich recently showed that total first-time buyer fees have grown at a rate of 94 per cent in tandem with a 99 per cent increase in house prices since 2000.

Homebuyers must also contend with news from the Land Registry that house prices have been on the increase during the first quarter of 2006.

© Adfero

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