The UK’s largest property auctioneer, Auction House – operating as Auction House Coventry and Warwickshire, estimates that last week’s axe to stamp duty will lift 200,000 homebuyers from paying the tax each year.
The move was
announced by Ex-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in his September ‘mini-budget’ and
could save property purchasers thousands of pounds each.
Paul Barnes said: “This is great news
for people moving home, because the price at which the zero stamp duty rate
applies has been doubled from £125,000 to £250,000 – representing a potential
saving of £2,500.
“It’s even
better news for first time buyers, who previously did not pay any stamp duty on
the first £300,000 of their home – but will now be free of the tax for the
first £425,000 instead. What’s more, the value of property on which they can
claim relief has been raised from £500,000 to £600,000 – which means they could
save up to an astonishing £11,250.
“Even
landlords, investors and second home buyers will benefit too. Whilst they will
still have to pay an extra 3% stamp duty on top of the rates for each band, the
doubling of the zero-rate to quarter of a million pounds will certainly help.
“So, not only
do Auction House buyers have the advantage of the speed and certainty of the
auction process – taking a matter of weeks instead of the average six months or
so for a home being bought via private treaty – but now there’s yet another
reason to purchase a property at one of our livestream events or online.
“As for our
sellers of course, the knowledge that hundreds of thousands of buyers have been
lifted out of paying stamp duty and incentivised to buy now, means they should
enter their property into our next auction at The Village Hotel, Canley,
Coventry CV4 9GZ on Thursday 3rd November at 6.30pm.”