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12Nov07

FIRST-TIME BUYERS LOSE OUT ON STAMP DUTY

Housing tax is pushing people off housing ladder says Conservative Candidate.

New figures have revealed the punishing effect of stamp duty on first-time buyers. Mark Versallion, Parliamentary Candidate for Stretford & Urmston, is backing the campaign for the stamp duty threshold to be raised to £250,000 for first-time buyers. The current threshold is just £125,000, enabling Gordon Brown to cash in on house price inflation.

As house prices have increased in recent years, more and more people have been caught in Brown’s stamp duty trap. New official statistics show that that the average flat in England now costs over £200,000. The detailed figures from the Land Registry show record prices for flats across the country – and the vast number of flats which are now liable for stamp duty.

New figures have also revealed that 34,000 first-time buyers a year are taking out mortgages of 100 per cent or more of the purchase price. This shows how vulnerable they are to negative equity. A stamp duty cut would help first-time buyers raise a larger deposit, which in turn, will make it easier to raise a mortgage and even reduce the interest payments on a mortgage.

Mark Versallion said: “The average flat in Trafford now costs £172,000. This underlines the need to raise the stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers in particular. Gordon Brown’s stealth tax rises, from stamp duty to council tax, are making home ownership harder and harder for more and more people.

“Conservatives recognise the importance of affordable homes, as they provide the bedrock for stable, safe and green communities. We will make it easier to get on, and move up, the home ladder.”