Building Society Lowers Rates On First Time Buyer Loans
A number of banks and building societies are offering various incentives in order to entice first time buyers back into the housing and home owner loan markets.
The latest of these offers comes from the Dunfermline building society, which has reduced its interest rates on home owner loans for first time buyers, in the hope that this will encourage more potential home owners into applying for a new loan and buying a property before the increased stamp duty threshold incentive expires at the end of this year.
The Dunfermline has introduced the cheap loans for first time buyers in order to help potential buyers get onto the housing market before the stamp duty threshold returns to its original level of £125,000, from the current £175,000, although due the fact that there are only around five weeks to the end of the year, it seems optimistic that anyone applying for a loan now will be able to have the loan accepted and complete the sale before the deadline for stamp duty expires on the 31st December this year.
It seems more likely that the newly reduced loan rates are intended as a cushion to help soften the blow of first time buyers having to find up to an additional £1,750 to pay the government tax, once the New Year arrives.
Niall Fraser of the Dunfermline building society said “The return of stamp duty could take the wind out of the sails of the Scottish housing market. First time buyers struggling to raise the capital for a property purchase might find the extra expense too much to bear. We hope that dropping our rates still further might help those with very tight budgets to go the extra mile before the extension deadline arrives.”
