Stamp duty move 'tempts first-time buyers'

Tuesday, 06 April 2010 10:20

By myfinances.co.uk staff

Chancellor Alistair Darling's decision to scrap stamp duty for first-time buyers purchasing homes valued at under £250,000 has helped to "kick-start" activity in the property market, it has been claimed.

Research from moneysupermarket.com showed that in the week following the measure's unveiling in the Budget, the number of people looking to buy their first home using its mortgage comparison tool rose by 15%.

The site said that the rise in demand among potential first-time buyers has coincided with improvements in the availability of home loans for this group, with the number of deals with a loan-to-value ratio of 90% rising by 17% since the start of the year.

Nevertheless, 18% of consumers said that securing a mortgage is still one of the biggest barriers to getting on the property ladder.

Hannah-Mercedes Skenfield, the site's mortgage channel manager, said: "Without a large deposit, you'll find yourself on a higher rate and that's if you can get a mortgage at all. It will be interesting to see over the long-term what impact this has."

The average house cost £164,519 in February, according to Nationwide.

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