Stamp Duty changes save buyers £4,500
07/12/2015
Anyone who has bought a house or flat in the past 12 months has saved an average of £4,500 thanks to the Stamp Duty changes introduced by Chancellor George Osborne.
Stamp Duty, a tax that is paid on every property bought over a certain price, was reformed last December. Research from Halifax has shown that the changes helped many people make large savings, but dampened demand at the top of the market. This could be because the changes mean that the only people who pay more in Stamp Duty under the new rules are those buying houses worth more than £938,000.
The research also found that 72% of the stamp duty revenue raised comes directly from property purchases in London, the East and the South East of England. Only 1% of all properties bought in London cost less than £125,000 in 2015, in contrast to 45% of all homes in the North East of England.
In this years Autumn Statement, George Osborne announced a further reform on Stamp Duty. There will now be a 3% surcharge on Stamp Duty on some buy-to-let properties and second homes, starting from April 2016.
Craig McKinlay, mortgages director at the Halifax said:
"The changes made to stamp duty a year ago have been of significant benefit to many buyers.
"Only those purchasing the most expensive homes are worse off. There is some evidence that the top end of the market has been adversely affected by the changes with sales over £1.5m falling by twice as much as the market as a whole."
Need financial advice?
If you have any personal finance questions related to this news article, then please contact our financial advisers. You can get in touch by asking a question online, calling us on 0800 092 1245, or by arranging a visit.
Share this..
Related stories
Hips will provide "clearer transaction"
It has been claimed that the implementation of Home Information Packs (Hips) across all properties in 2008 will offer a better transaction for homebuyers.Stephen Ludlow, director of residential property agent Ludlowthompson, explained that Hips can potentially provide a "clearer transaction" and increase the speed of sales, if used correctly.He said: "The better agents will get geared up; and then...
Read MoreIs the UK housing market starting to stabilise?
A report by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has given further hope to homeowners across the UK with a suggestion that the gap between advertised asking prices and actual selling prices has reduced over recent weeks. This would indicate that value is returning to the UK housing market and buyer are more willing to pay nearer the asking price than at any time in the recent past. So have...
Read MoreHouse Prices Forecast To Rise 25% Over Next Five Years
The National Housing Federation (NHF) has given home owners a little bit of light relief with a forecast that house prices will grow by 25% over the next 5 years. However, the bad news is that there is still further to fall over the next couple of years with 2010 seen as a turning point (something which other groups have also flagged as the turn point in the market). So what is happening?
...
UK house prices rise by 0.2% in April
The average UK house priced increased by 0.2% in April leading to a rise of 8.5% over the last 12 months. However, on a regional basis there are major variations on the 8.5% annual increase and not every housing market in the UK is experiencing increased demand! The report by the Land Registry shows that Brighton and Hove has the highest year on year increase of 16.8%, Bristol is next on 15.9%...
Read MoreAnnual house price growth hits 10.5%
A report by the Nationwide today shows that UK house prices increased by 10.5% in the 12 months to the end of April. The average price of a home in the UK is now £167,802 with a 1% increase in prices during April helping to boost the overall figure. While the increase of 10.5% is welcome and fairly impressive it does come against a backdrop of one of the weaker months from April 2009. The Nati...
Read More