First-time buyers dealt some good news in recent Budget

First-time buyers purchasing properties of up to £500,000 were dealt some good news in the recent Budget with their stamp duty obligations being removed or reduced.

For those buying a house of up to £300,000, stamp duty is now not applicable.

For first-time purchases of up to £500,000, the first £300,000 will be exempt. This will equate to a payment of £5,000 on a property of £400,000 – half the amount of before the Budget – and on a property of £500,000, stamp duty for first-time buyers will be £10,000, which is a £5,000 reduction on the pre-Budget level.

Chancellor Philip Hammond hailed this move as benefitting 95 per cent of first-time buyers, with 80 per cent of this group now set to pay no stamp duty at all. The change applies to purchases in England and Northern Ireland, in Wales until March 2018, but not in Scotland.

While this is of course welcome news, and was hailed by the Chancellor as enabling young people to make the dream of home ownership achievable again, it remains the case that for the majority of first-time home buyers, the main obstacle is the level of deposit required.

However, with a saving of up to £5,000 on stamp duty levels payable before the Budget, it provides at least some respite for first-time purchasers.

For any further advice or information you may need on your property purchase, please contact our residential property team at any time.

Anna Barton is Partner and Head of Residential Property at Sintons. To speak to her, contact Anna on 0191 226 3743 or anna.barton@sintons.co.uk