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Zoopla analysis shows that if the minimum stamp duty threshold of £425,000 were made permanent, first-time buyers buying more expensive properties in the south of England would be the real winners.
It has been reported that this will be included as a pledge in the Conservative manifesto this week, with the stamp duty threshold for first-home buyers due to return to £300,000 from March next year.
Currently, nearly half of first-time home buyers in London are looking to buy a home in the £250,000 to £425,000 price range.
On current standards, eight in 10 first-time home buyers across the UK will not pay stamp duty, and just 15% will buy a home between £425,000 and £625,000.
Richard Donnell, executive director of Zoopla, said: “A return to the old rules and price thresholds would mean 30% of first-home buyers would have to pay stamp duty again.”
“The main challenges for first-time home buyers are still paying high mortgage interest rates and needing to pass the Means Test. For many, this means putting more of their own capital towards their home purchase to lower the income levels needed to buy a home. This will affect buyers in the south of England, where house prices are the highest and the average down payment is over £60,000.
“Building a wider range of homes at a wider price range and developing the market for long-term fixed-rate mortgages are key foundations for supporting first-time homebuyers in the long term.”