Mortgage & Property Advice Centre for First Time Home Buyers

First-time buyers should be permanently exempt from stamp duty'

24-Nov-2009

First-time buyers should remain exempt from paying stamp duty, it has been claimed.

This is according to Nicholas Leeming, commercial director for Zoopla.co.uk, who spoke to the Telegraph regarding the impact the stamp duty holiday has had on people looking to buy their first property.

He explained that the firm's research shows that many people on the first rung of the housing ladder have benefitted from the government stimulus, pointing out that buyers in Basildon and Dagenham have had the most success, with 58 per cent of house sales falling in the tax-free bracket.

"Rather than ending the stamp duty holiday, the government should seriously consider extending it by making first-time buyers permanently exempt," Mr Leeming remarked.

He added that other house hunters should be given the opportunity to defer payment for up to five years.

The National Association of Estate Agents echoed these sentiments. It said the government should extend the exemptions in order to encourage more people to get onto the property ladder.

This comes as the Council of Mortgage Lenders recently revealed that 132,000 first-time buyers have benefitted from having no stamp duty to pay when purchasing a property.

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