Quantcast
Menu

First-time Buyers

Aspiring buyers want Stamp Duty reform

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
15/12/2016

The majority of wannabe first-time buyers would be more likely to buy if they didn’t have to pay Stamp Duty

Two in three aspiring homeowners would be more likely to buy a property if they didn’t have to pay Stamp Duty, according to Yorkshire Building Society.

The mutual has asked the Government to consider reforming property tax to make it payable by sellers rather than buyers.

And it reckons that such a reform would save first-time buyers in the UK an average of £3,791, with Londoners saving the most at an average of £13,171.

More likely to move

A significant 60% of aspiring homeowners said paying no Stamp Duty would make them more likely to move, with 22% saying it would not make a difference (and the remaining 18% answering ‘don’t know’).

More would-be first time buyers said paying for upfront costs including Stamp Duty would be difficult (72%), compared to raising a deposit (69%) and making monthly mortgage payments (34%).

Andrew McPhillips, chief economist at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “Saving enough to pay Stamp Duty adds to the overall difficulty of buying a home. It is hard enough for buyers to find the right property in the right location without the need to pay additional fees and taxes, given the scale of house price inflation in recent years.”