Buyers could be encouraged through stamp duty suspension
October 3, 2008
Many people cannot remember the last time things looked so bleak for the housing market, with property sales having plummeted and estate agents selling an average one property a week or less. With a range of factors affecting the ability of consumers to make a purchase, the housing market has all but ground to a halt, adding the other pressures that the nation is facing in terms of the economy, the financial markets, and soaring inflation levels.
In response to calls from industry groups to try and kick start the housing market again the government has recently announced that it is suspending stamp duty on properties up to the price of £175,000 for a twelve month period. Stamp duty, which is 1% of the property value, is normally only exempt on properties up to the value of £125,000, which means that the threshold for stamp duty exemption has been increased by £50,000.
It is hopes that the move to suspend stamp duty at this higher level will encourage would be buyers to take the plunge, with some saving up to £1750 on a property at the maximum exemption level of £175,000. So far buyers have been reluctant to buy due to high interest rates, higher deposit requirements from lenders, increased arrangement fees, and general lack of affordability.
A senior official from the government did recently announce that the government was thinking about suspending stamp duty in order to boost the housing market, and a firm decision was not expected until around October. However, the speculation resulted in more people dropping out of sales in the hope of saving thousands of pounds later in the year, and the government was then urged to make and announce the decision sooner rather than later.
- Is it worth waiting to save money on stamp duty? Affordability for first time buyers looking to get onto the property ladder has continued to dwindle over recent months despite the fact that house prices have been falling month on month and are now said
- Could stamp duty relief help to boost the housing market? Over the past few months the housing slump in the UK seems to have become more and more pronounced, with estate agents unable to shift many of the properties on their books and with sellers
- Mortgage approval levels still very low say authorities There is further doom and gloom for consumers in the UK following a recent report from the British Banker's Association, which claims that mortgage lending approvals in the UK are still way down compared to
- Mixed reactions on housing proposals from government The government in the UK has made a number of new proposals recently to try and kick start the slow housing market, and amongst the actions taken by the government are a suspension in stamp
- Credit crunch does not stop asking prices from rising According to recent reports asking prices on some properties are still increasing despite the fact that property values have been falling for almost a year. Figures have revealed that the mortgage famine and falling property
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