Responding to the announcement in the Budget that the Stamp Duty threshold will be frozen until the end of the year, Scott Brown, Estate Agency Partner at Warners, said: “This is a welcome step, but more is still needed to reinvigorate the property market.
“Although we are starting to see signs of house prices levelling out, there are still many people who are not confident enough – or cannot afford to – make their next move along the property ladder.
“A longer extension to the Stamp Duty ‘holiday’ on properties worth up to £175,000 would have been a better decision, as it would have shown that the government is willing to tackle the property market as part of a long-term strategy.
“I would also have liked to see him increase the Stamp Duty holiday so that it was frozen on all properties up to £250,000, and a sliding scale introduced on homes higher than this value.
“At the moment, this policy provides a welcome boost to first time buyers but little for people in larger homes looking to make their next move along the property ladder.
“Given that people often plan a house move four or five months in advance, the Chancellor is going to have to make a further announcement or decision on stamp duty as early as August this year. If, as it stands, the base level for paying stamp duty returns to £125,000 in January 2010, that will only serve to hamper a property market which is trying to recover.”
Related links
- 01/09/2009 12:01 - Property boom to beat tax whammy
- 28/08/2009 08:37 - Mayor to decide future of East London property development
- 28/08/2009 00:01 - Landlords cheer as rental market strengthens sharply
- 25/08/2009 09:57 - Electrical surveys important before letting
- 20/04/2009 09:49 - UK buyer interest on the rise
- 17/04/2009 13:15 - UK rents fall sharply for a second quarter
- 09/04/2009 13:06 - DIY takes over relocation
- 09/04/2009 13:05 - Pensioners affected by the loss in real estate value
