22 Nov, 2017/ by Homeward Legal /First Time Buyer
The big housing news from today's Budget was Chancellor Philip Hammond's announcement that Stamp Duty be abolished with immediate effect for first-time buyers purchasing property worth up to £300,000. This is a saving of around £5,000 per transaction and effectively takes 80 percent of first-time buyers out of the Stamp Duty Land Tax altogether.
Updated SDLT tax bands for 1st-time buyers
| Tax Band | % |
|---|---|
| £0 - £300000 | 0% |
| £300000 - £925000 | 5% |
| £925000 - £1500000 | 8% |
| £1500000+ | 15% |
Example of Stamp Duty for 1st-time buyers
| Before Budget | November 22 Onwards | |
|---|---|---|
| £200,000 | £1,500 | £0 |
| £208,000 - average 1st-time buyer property in the UK | £1,660 | £0 |
| £300,000 | £5,000 | £0 |
| £400,000 | £10,000 | £5,000 |
| £410,000 - average 1st-time buyer property in London | £10,500 | £5,500 |
| £500,000 | £15,000 | £10,000 |
| Above £500,000 | Stamp duty is unchanged on purchases above £500,000 |
But Mr Hammond made several other announcements that could affect the housing market, particularly in England.
He confirmed that the government wants to increase the number of homes built every year and set an ambitious target of 300,000 annually by the mid-2020s. On average, around 120,000 new homes are built in England every year.
Home ownership not a 'dream'
He pledged an extra £44 billion in government support over the next five years to boost construction skills and encourage smaller builders to return to the home-building market. That money is made up of capital funding, loans and guarantees and is intended to boost the supply of skills, resources and building land.
The Chancellor told the House of Commons that he intended to tackle the problems in the housing market so that young people no longer had to dream simply of home ownership but could become property owners as previous generations had.
He said: "House prices are increasingly out of reach for many. It takes too long to save for a deposits and rents absorb too high a portion of monthly income."
High-quality, high-density homes will be built in the urban areas where most people want to live and where most jobs are created, said Mr Hammond.
Full council tax on empty properties
He also promised continued protection for the greenbelt but promised reform of the planning system and announced that a review would be carried out and report by next spring on delays in developments, including those with planning permission.
Meanwhile, to discourage the number of empty properties, councils will be allowed to levy a 100 percent council tax premium. And the Homes and Communities Agency will become Homes England with a remit to improve home affordability.