Stamp duty break boosts homebuyers

Homebuyers have been buoyed by changes to stamp duty made by the government a year ago, new research has found.

According to Halifax figures, since the lowest stamp duty threshold was raised from £125,000 to £175,000, 31 per cent of buyers have not had to pay the tax.

This has helped 112,000 people, including landlords, to purchase new properties for lower overall costs in the ten months between September 2008 and June 2009.

The temporary stamp duty alterations were made to inject more interest in buying houses, as the property market suffered a slump.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: "This has been a boost to many people in a very difficult economic climate.

"The impact has added to the far more significant effect of the reduction in house prices in helping to reduce the costs of buying a home over the past year."

More buyers in the north (84 per cent) benefited from the change than in London, where only 22 per cent of all home sales were below £175,000.

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