First Time Buyers Get Stamp Duty Boost

As a sign of its ongoing commitment to helping first time buyers get onto the property ladder, Halifax has today offered to pay the full stamp duty bill for first time buyers purchasing properties up to the value of £250,000.

Designed to ease the burden for first time buyers making their way onto the property ladder; for the second consecutive year, Halifax will pay the entire stamp duty bill on purchases between £125,001 and £250,000, reducing a first time buyer’s costs by up to £2,500. In addition, for first time buyers who purchase a property below £125,001, they will receive £250 cashback.

Craig McKinlay, Mortgage Director, Halifax said: “We know that Stamp Duty can often be a cost that is overlooked, particularly by first time buyers who are focused on saving an initial deposit for a house. We helped ease the burden of Stamp Duty for over 14,000 first time buyers last year and we’re keen to do what we can to once again support those buying their first home, at what’s already an expensive time.”

Analysis by Halifax shows that 268,800 first-time buyers purchased a property last year, an increase of 23% compared to 2012. First time buyers accounting for 44% of all property purchases in 2013 and 9 out of 10 first time buyers (91%) purchased a property below £250,000 in 2013.

Nationally almost half (46%) of home purchases by first time buyers were between £125,000 and £250,000. However, there were significant regional variations in the prices paid by first time buyers last year, with those in the South East (75%) and South West (71%) purchasing properties between £125,000 and £250,000. In contrast, only 14% of first time buyers in Northern Ireland and 23% in the North of the country purchased within this range. (Table below.)

First time buyer purchases by Price Band – 2013

Source: Halifax