News broke yesterday that the Government is considering lifting the Stamp Duty threshold, a move that has the potential to give the housing market a significant and welcome boost.
The Times reported that the level could be raised as high as £500,000, meaning that any property transactions below this figure would be exempt from the tax. There is also speculation that Stamp Duty could be suspended altogether for a period.
The property industry has long been calling for changes to Stamp Duty, which has remained static for years.
Richard Smailes, of FSS said: “The news that changes may be announced tomorrow is hugely positive.
“The property market has been buoyant since lockdown eased and we have been very busy with valuations and transactions so a timely change to the Stamp Duty threshold would help sustain the current positivity.”
The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is expected to make an announcement about his plans for SDLT tomorrow, Wednesday 8 July.
Richard said he would welcome a lifting of the threshold, which is long overdue and will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the housing market as it recovers from the impact of Covid-19.
“A well-timed announcement of immediate and decisive change to SDLT would stimulate the market and give confidence to buyers,” he said.
“With so much uncertainty in the economy at the moment, we hope the chancellor will announce the changes, or a suspension of Stamp Duty, to take effect immediately.
“Any suggestion that changes will come later in the year would be disastrous and could kill off the current buoyancy in the market.”