Stamp Duty Changes boost housing market

A study by The National Association of Estate Agents suggests the UK’s government’s recent changes to stamp duty have helped to boost the property market.

Members reported the highest number of registered, interested home buyers since December 2004. It appears to support recent data published by Rightmove, who announced a new record high in the number of page views on the site in January 2015.

The changes to stamp duty, the tax on house purchases, became law in December of last year. Under the new rules purchasers pay tax only on the chunk of their homes value that falls into each bracket. For example, an individual purchasing a home for £150,000 pays nothing on the first £125,000 (which is the threshold of exemption) but a 2% fee on the additional £25,000, equalling a bill of £500. Under the old rules the individual would have paid £1,500.