Rumours suggest that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expecting to cut Stamp Duty in the upcoming Autumn Budget.
The claim was made by The Times newspaper early this year, with sources backed by the HM Treasury. The initial change will be that the minimum threshold for paying stamp duty will be increased from £250,000 to £300,000.
For anyone buying their first property and it is under the price of £300,000, no stamp duty will be applied. This rate is currently set at 5% for this threshold, so a purchase on a £250,000 property, currently costs £12,500 in stamp duty.
As it stands, the UK government makes around £3 billion from this structure per year, but this change means that around 50% of Britons who buy a home each year would pay no stamp duty.
Some suggest that this proposal was a ploy to increase popularity in the recent election, but there is a real possibility of this change being introduced.
Currently, inflationary pressure appears to be subsiding, hence Treasury officials are more relaxed about it being featured in the Autumn budget this coming September, with the exact date yet to be confirmed.
This decision will be welcomed by many, with the housing market incredibly tougher for new buyers and mortgage rates at a record high. The current average age in the UK for first-time buyers is 33 years and 8 months and 36 years and 8 months for those in London. Some action needs to be taken to make the property market more accessible for first-time buyers and the general British public.
Now that inflationary pressures are subsiding, Treasury officials are more relaxed about it being featured in the Autumn budget in September, the exact date of which has yet to be set.
Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance, commented: “With property prices increasing month-on-month, we are seeing the strength in demand and confidence within buyers who are taking advantage of steading interest rates and lower inflation.
“But comparatively, the sales volume (of property) is considerably lower than last year. So we are seeing higher demand versus lower supply will always push prices up.
“Sellers need to be encouraged to move in order to increase availability of stock in the market, and some movement in Stamp Duty rates would certainly help.”
