Stamp Duty

Yeah . I’m seriously considering spending a cool half million £ to save myself about £15k.......not . Infact you couldn’t even find a house worth £500k in my town ....or even £300k for that matter.

Is that man for real ?

Just wondering, if anyone else like me, has been pondering on this, we will probably sell up and move out a few miles from where we are at the moment now I'm thinking sooner rather than later? We did put our house on the market a couple of years ago, we got an offer, but in the end didn't proceed for several reasons. This temporary cut in Stamp Duty is an incentive, but oh the upheaval and as far as the virus is concerned, pretty sure we aren't out of the woods yet.

Anyone else have any thoughts on the matter?

My nephew and his partner were househunting before lockdown and as they live in London that would be a fabulous help to them. There is a minor matter at present they are both furloughed so when it will happen I do not know.

I have no intention of moving but it would help me enormously. House prices in NW London are sky-high (to me).

Sorry Gillybob not intending to rub salt into wounds, I know there is an enormous disparity in house prices as to the different areas around the country. Where I live you can't get a 1 bedroomed flat for less than about £320,000

I’m hoping this might help those who like Luckygirl anxious to sell her bungalow and also my half-brother who has been trying to move closer to his daughter for the last year.
It wouldn’t tempt me to put my house on the market though but there are many who need to move - downsize, or move closer to family or whose house move has totally stagnated because of a combination of Brexit and lockdown.
Gillybob £500k is the top limit so those buying first homes or houses for £150k or £200k further down the market will all benefit.

TerriBull

Sorry Gillybob not intending to rub salt into wounds, I know there is an enormous disparity in house prices as to the different areas around the country. Where I live you can't get a 1 bedroomed flat for less than about £320,000

Obviously with the wages to match Terribull . Cheaper houses here, but some of the lowest wages in the country.

I think it’s a good incentive.
Movement in the housing market has a ripple effect into the economy.

We are seriously tempted to put our house on the market, the plan was to move next year but we may consider
bringing it forward.

Stamp Duty on property normally starts at £125,000, so most people involved in purchasing property are likely to be paying at least that in nearly everywhere in UK. It will help them. I do think it is wrong to include people buying 2nd homes in this small, time-limited windfall. But delighted that it could help to give a small boost to the housing market.

Gillybob, Half a million is the top end of this - and the point at which it will cut out. And, obviously, if anyone is not, and has not, been considering trying to move, it will not tempt them, but can make a difference to those who wish to or need to do this. Should have been raised long ago from the lower end of the market in any case.

Yes, it would have saved me some with regard to my move at the end of last year, but still very glad I did it then, as the last few months must have made this (normally) so very stressful process even so much worse.

Unfortunately not gilly.

The average Staff Nurse in London earns around £27,00, so a couple would have a joint salary of over £50,000 - they wouldn't be able to buy anything in Greater London, apart from maybe a 25% share in a 1-bedroom flat in a key workers development. They would pay rent on the remaining 75%.

In the North East I bet the average nurse couple could afford a decent house.

gillybob

TerriBull

Sorry Gillybob not intending to rub salt into wounds, I know there is an enormous disparity in house prices as to the different areas around the country. Where I live you can't get a 1 bedroomed flat for less than about £320,000

Obviously with the wages to match Terribull . Cheaper houses here, but some of the lowest wages in the country.

Not always gillybob

I feel for those on a fixed salary wherever they work (London or the fringe where they get a little extra) eg teachers. I think the same applies to nurses. Probably civil service workers too.

My son, near St Albans, lived in a semi-detached house (2+boxroom bedroom) with tiny garden. Similar properties sell for an average of £631,136, (rightmove).

I used to live in a detached 3 bedroom bungalow, (slightly bigger than my son's house) near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. They currently fetch £170,000.

Riverwalk

Agree. Just posted a similar comment.

The cut is stamp duty is definitely an incentive TerriBull and one which will hopefully push many potential buyers into action. They need to get cracking though before time runs out on them in March 2021. The buying process can be long winded.
Our son has been actively looking for a year or more now, but he said last night he wouldn't buy a property just because it was in the sale! He would rather wait for the right thing even if it meant "losing" £10k.

TerriBull if you would like support and encouragement in this direction there is an amazing thread of house movers and friends on here.

Hopefully it will allow some first time buyers to Save some of the expense and be able to afford a home. I expect the new build houses will be popular with them because the negotiations can be very quick.

I’m in the process of looking for a new home at it would save me a lot of money, problem is finding something suitable I can afford here in NWLondon, it’s no easy task.

TerriBull

Sorry Gillybob not intending to rub salt into wounds, I know there is an enormous disparity in house prices as to the different areas around the country. Where I live you can't get a 1 bedroomed flat for less than about £320,000

Which is why we could afford a larger house when we moved away - but could not afford to buy our old house back again.

There really are more than just public sector workers who need to buy homes you know. I know that might sound odd but its true.

A "nurse couple" each on £27k would be positively well off here in my part of the NE River and could buy a very nice house indeed.

Fair point about London house prices but not sure how it could ever change .

Yes I think it's an incentive.

I know what you mean Callistemon, our old house, a mile or so away, came on the market a couple of years ago and we definitely couldn't afford it now, although have to say it wasn't the house we'd left, they'd extended it all over the place. We have been toying with the idea of moving out a few miles, have spent a lot of time visiting various towns to imagine what it would be like living there, of course how any of them weather these terrible times remains to be seen.

I didn't intend to make this thread about a north/south divide, salaries aren't always commensurate with over inflated house prices. My son and girlfriend had to go 40 miles or so outside the capital to buy a house, and then of course there is the extortionate cost of commuting in every day, prior to working from home right now, which won't last for ever. The cost of their rail journeys are something in the region of over £4,000 plus per annum each.

Elliane thanks for the heads up about the other thread, I'd definitely be over there if we set the ball rolling, but have to say still thinking about it. I'm so much better at thinking about changes than implementing them though.

We are in the middle of buying/selling. Our builder had included paying the stamp duty on our behalf in the 'deal' so we are wondering if that will transalet into something else - reduced asking price - dont know but doubt it.

I don’t think there’s a Stamp Duty holiday in Scotland (It’s called something else here) but it would make me consider moving if there was.

Terribull I've just been looking at houses for sale where we used to live and am astonished at some of the prices!
We thought of moving within that locality and one we had our eye on (underpriced, I think, but just affordable as a doer-upper all those years ago) would now be well over £1m!

Scotland has now announced it’s version of a cut in stamp duty.

AS I heard on the radio today people are quite likely to raise the price of the property to include the amount the stamp duty who'd have been.

sorry, would have been.