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BBC NEWS | Politics | Stamp duty is axed below £175,000
Stamp duty is to be axed for a year on properties costing less than £175,000 in an effort to kick start the ailing housing market.

TelBoy

Why bother? Is a £50k extension to a 1% tax really going to make any difference?

Darling, you are the weakest link, goodbye.

FlightMan

LOL, it's a drop in the ocean. With house prices falling buyers are saving the amount this increase equates to every 10 days or so.

Govt has no ideas. Get rid.

TopBanana

This is like pushing on a piece of string. Ridiculous, but I suppose it ends the uncertainly they caused by leaking the rumours.

Funkii Munkii

What a joke

Their leaking that this "might" happen some weeks ago effectively brought the market to a stand still as well as removing more thousands from the values and when they finally come out with it it's on properties less that £175,000.00. 1 bedroom studio flat anyone ?

Someone needs to give these guys their final written warning, come on Liz as their employer sort it out

boxst

That will do very little to help with anything. The free loans for 5 years for first time buyers for 30% is slightly better.

Steve

EddScott

It could actually increase the value of some homes.

My mother recently sold a flat in Oxfordshire and although it could easily have gone for over £130K but she went for £125K to make it a more attractive purchase.

PeteBrant

The average property price is lower than £175,000 so it will reduce for quite alot of people.

However, given that people are unwilling to spend at all, or ar eunable to get a mortgage, I doubt a reduction of £1,750 is going to make any difference.

They need to stop tinkering, the market is adjusting; let it do it. It will be more painful if they don't.

The Chief

The Goverment are in a desperate situation and are panicking now, even with their new measures they're going to suffer such a humiliating defeat come election time and will be out on there *****.

The British public has had enough to be quite frank and will vote accordingly

TelBoy

You what? All he's done is extend the upper limit from £125k to £175k, so nobody has saved £1,750 at all, it's £500 maximum. Tinkering at its worst.

scooby L

plus it's hardly going to encourage the people who are selling their £175k (or less) houses, so all it will do is help shift the cheap new build stuff.

Well done

PeteBrant

If you bought a property yesterday for £174,999 you would pay £1749.99 in stamp duty.

If you bought a property for the same price today, you pay zero.

How are you not saving £1750?

Steve vRS

What would help is to move the £250k threshold up a bit. However, I agree with Pete, the market is overpriced and needs to correct although for the Government to admit this would be political suicide. Like they can get more unpopular!

Steve

darts_aint_sport

And how p*ssed off would you be

PeteBrant

Well seeing as the leaked reports effectively stopped house sales in thier tracks (why the **** didn't theey just come out and say they were going to do it?) it probably doesn;t affect that many people.


That said, I would imagine that many buyers dropped their offer price by the stamp duty cost to cover themselves.

scooby L

But if you'd just bought a house knowing the stamp duty threshold was going to be "adjusted" then you deserve all you get

TelBoy

That was my point, the marginal rate (i love marginal rates, me) rather than the outright saving which, as you correctly point out, could be £1,750. If anyone bought after Darling had suggested a tax break window, well, more fool them.

lozgti

Why do they persist with things like HIPS as well? Scrap it,its unpoular with everyone except the government.

Agreed on prices thoug.They have to come down because no way are lenders going to go back to the sort of lending practices that caused the boom.

People will have to face the fact they will need at least 10% Deposit,can only (in most cases) borrow 3x salary so I'm afraid houses will have to come down to meet wages.

Stamp duty means sod all in the great scheme of things

(And when will one decent reporter ask Brown about Boom and Bust?)

dpb

Cheap bribe to keep in with the electorate - itll work as well as anything else they can come up with

PeteBrant

I actually like the principle behind HIPS, just not the execution

Why should conveyancing solicitors et al get the same money multiple times for doing the same job for buyers when one falls through?

Its like an MoT for your car; You don;t get the MoT redone if a sale falls through, nor is it the buyers responsbility.

Surveys/conveyancing etc should be the responsibility of the seller, not the buyer.

Coffin Dodger

Because you are only saving £1749.99

lozgti

The main thing behind it is energy efficiency junk

Most basic example.

Someone sees a beautiful 300 year old cottage.Part of HIPS pack says what a load of non double glazed centrally heated junk. Score...3/100.

Its all part of the rubbish green argument and there are just so many reasons why getting one does not help sellers or buyers.Just the people who prepare the packs

dpb

Seems fare enough if you left your deposit with the seller if you changed your mind

PeteBrant

PeteBrant

Yup I agree the energy efficiency side needs looking at.

unclebuck

They are easing our pain - we must thank them......

Leslie

What kind of a property can you get these days for £175K or less?

Les

PeteBrant

An average one. The average property price in the UK is £168,000.

dpb

Exactly Les

Before Nu Labia - a good sized detached house that was *worth* 175

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Whats next, A free Doormat with every house over 250k coutersy of the government ?