Benefits Of Stamp Duty Increase Already Apparent On Loan Applications
In his recent budget speech, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, raised the threshold for stamp duty for first time buyers to £250,000, in an attempt to help growth in the housing and home owner loan markets.
According to new research from Moneysupermarket.com, this increase is already starting to show benefits in the housing market, with a fifteen per cent increase in the number of potential first time buyers visiting the web site in order to find themselves the most suitable home owner loan or mortgage to help with their purchase.
At the same time, Moneysupermarket.com has also seen an increase in the number of available home owner loan products, particularly those designed to assist first time buyers, with an increase of around 17 per cent in deals which offer up to 90 per cent loan to value, as well as an increase on nearly a third in deals offering 80 per cent loan to value.
Hannah Mercedes Skenfield of Moneysupermarket.com said “There has been much debate over the past week as to what impact Darling’s measures will have on the housing market and while the Jury’s still out on that one, it is clear that those most affected have welcomed it if numbers to our site are anything to go by.”
“Whilst the majority of our users say the stamp duty cut is a good thing and recognise that people need help to buy their first home, the reality is that until loan to values and corresponding loan rates improve, the situation remains largely the same. Without a deposit you’ll find yourself on a higher rate and that’s if you can get a mortgage at all. It will be interesting to see over the long term what impact this has.”
