Stamp duty reforms get mixed response

The housing industry has reacted angrily to Gordon brown’s failure to raise the lower threshold for stamp duty.

Some experts had been hoping that the Chancellor would introduce a higher threshold so that it would be in line with the average UK house price.

The average person now has to get a mortgage above £125,000 lower stamp duty threshold as house prices have risen dramatically in recent years.

However, Mr Brown failed to offer a break to people looking to buy a home in this bracket, meaning that almost all property buyers are now required to pay at least one per cent stamp duty.

“House price inflation remains a key concern for everyone in the UK, particularly first-time buyers and so it is disappointing that this year’s budget has not addressed the UK’s out of date stamp duty thresholds,” commented Duncan Berry, director of mortgage sales at GE Money.

The Chancellor’s promise to completely do away with stamp duty on carbon-neutral homes up to a value of £500,000 however, has bee welcomed, although Nationwide has highlighted that Mr Brown is letting down the poorest in society.

“We feel that it is important to do more to help hard-pressed homebuyers,” said Stuart Bernau from Nationwide.

“We have calculated that if the stamp duty threshold had been raised in line with house price inflation since 1993 it would now stand at £206,000.”

Tags: first time buyers, lower threshold, GBP, bracket, gordon brown, line