One in five homebuyers qualify for stamp duty

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Halifax has announced that its latest research shows that one in five homebuyers are now above the stamp duty threshold.

One in five homebuyers qualify for stamp duty

Halifax has announced that its latest research shows that one in five homebuyers are now above the stamp duty threshold.

The figures reveal that over the past five years there has been a 281% rise in the number of home sales in England and Wales above the £250,000 threshold at which a 3% rate of stamp duty is levied. As a result, the number of residential property sales attracting at least 3% stamp duty has increased from 73,403 in 2001 to 279,408 in 2006.

Homebuyers in these transactions were faced with a stamp duty bill of at least £7,500. In 2006, 19% of home buyers paid at least 3% stamp duty compared with 6% in 2001.

Tim Crawford, group economist, at Halifax, said: "Stamp duty revenue raised from home sales continues to rise rapidly. Bracket creep has been a key factor as a growing percentage of property sales now occur above the higher stamp duty thresholds of £250,000 and £500,000, which have not been changed since their introduction in 1997. Nearly a quarter of postcode districts in England and Wales now have an average price above the 3% stamp duty threshold of £250,000, compared to only one in 20 districts five years ago.

"Halifax calls on the government to increase the stamp duty thresholds in line with the increase in house prices since the mid 90s and to commit to index linking all the stamp duty thresholds to house price inflation in the future."