Stamp Duty Slashed in 'Mini-Budget'

Posted by Mesa Financial on 26th September 2022 -

Kwasi Kwarteng has confirmed a stamp duty cut as part of his mini-budget on Friday morning.

In England and Northern Ireland, you pay stamp duty on properties worth over £125,000 if this is your main residence - or £300,000 if you're a first-time buyer.

The threshold will rise to £250,000 or to £425,000 for first-time buyers. This will happen from Friday and the cuts are permanent.

The value of the property on which first-time buyers can claim relief will also rise from £500,000 to £625,000 which certainly makes more sense in London and the South East.

Cutting stamp duty means property buyers and home movers will save thousands of pounds - but experts have warned that such a drastic measure could also “do more harm than good”. There are fears that this could drive house prices and rents to further increase which is the real crisis and fear many renters or aspirational buyers have.

Introducing a temporary stamp duty holiday during the Covid pandemic was largely blamed for pushing up house prices as buyers rushed to take advantage of the tax cut.

Many property experts have already mentioned that the real issue is the lack of supply with new housing stock. Stimulating growth from the ground-up would surely make more sense in the long run as opposed to cutting stamp duty where first-time buyers are potentially saving £5,000 - £10,000.

It's been reported over the weekend that some vendors have already increased asking prices now Kwasi Kwarteng has confirmed a stamp duty cut.

 

Chris Treadwell - Senior Associate