18
Dec
End of stamp duty holiday 'will not greatly affect first-time
buyers'
First-time buyers are not likely to be particularly affected by the
end to the government's stamp duty holiday, a property specialist
has stated.
According to Lucian Cook, director of residential research at
Savills, the challenge of raising a sizeable deposit is a greater
problem for those attempting to get on the property ladder.
He commented: "It may affect sentiment a little but in terms of the
cash which is being saved, it is not significant in the context of
the deposit that they have got to raise."
The threshold for stamp duty is set to revert back to its
£125,000 limit on December 31st, following a period where the
level was increased to £175,000.
Statistics released by the National Association of Estate Agents
(NAEA) on December 18th revealed that only 19 per cent of
registered house purchasers were first-time buyers in
November.
This is the lowest proportion recorded since December 2008, when it
stood at 11 per cent, the NAEA added.