Chief Executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), Peter Bolton King, comments on the Halifax report that average homebuyers in London pay more than £7,500 in stamp duty:
"What this report proves is that it is not just the plight of first time buyers whom we now have to be concerned about, it is also first time sellers, especially in London. When the time comes for these homeowners to move on, they are being prevented from doing so due to the prohibitive cost of the three per cent stamp duty on their desired home. When further costs are factored in, like rising council taxes and energy bills, a move becomes even more impossible.
While the Government did raise the bottom threshold before stamp duty kicks in during the last budget, it did not go high enough. When stamp duty was first brought in it only affected the minority but now, bearing in mind recent house price rises, thresholds are all far too low, which results in the majority of buyers having to pay.
The NAEA has consistently called for all thresholds to be raised, and advocates a further rise in the level at which the three percent stamp duty is set in this week's budget, in order to relieve the pressure on this static sector of the housing ladder and breathe new life into the market."
