Labour to end stamp duty tax break for FTB

[BluLagoon]

Assuming Labour gets in and follows through, what would the effect be on house prices/the market (if any)?

More details here:

amp.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/28/stamp-duty-for-first-time-buyers-would-rise-in-2025-under-labour-government

I would really like to know this as I currently have a 70% share worth 200k on a shared ownership property which I never paid SD on. I want to sell and buy a property worth 250k. But I can't sell until we have the correct cladding certificate due to the remedial works in the light of grenfell and we won't have the certificate until end of 2024. I imagine, but don't know, that the budget April 2025 would be when they bring in the most changes.

Oh in terms of house prices....I think generally I would assume house prices are going to start going up again by the end of the year. More to do with the fact we are increasingly becoming an asset based economy than the government in power. House prices will rise, faster than wages. It's been happening for years. That's why the average age of home ownership is much higher now.

Money, of which there is a finite amount, is increasingly held in assets owned by the rich.

This title is highly misleading. It was always due to end on 31st March 2025, and the Tories didn't extend it in either of their last two budgets.

In fact, they've only said a word about it since the G.E. was announced. They're only happy to commit to it because it's not money the government pay upfront - and they know they're not going to get back in again, so it's an imaginary future fiscal loss anyway.

Starmer is right in doing it. It only serves to push up house prices, which, ultimately, doesn't help FTBs anyway.

FWIW the FTB discount in Scotland is £600, even if you buy a £1m house.

Agree @KievLoverTwo that it pushed up prices, could it result in a small fall at the lower end once the stamp duty break ends?

I was wondering about shared ownership @VotesAndGoats do you have to pay SD on the whole value or just the part that you buy?

could it result in a small fall at the lower end once the stamp duty break ends?

I doubt it. People with expensive houses are downsizing and are competing with FTBs on the lower end of the market.

Additionally, prices seem to be increasing in most of the cheaper places in the country to live.

Everyone's wary of their finances becoming dangerous and are being prudent.

At the time when I bought you could choose.

I think it's done on the part you buy but you can choose to pay the SD at the time of buying if you want.

We are also stuck without the cladding certificate, with little known about when we might get it or what we might have to pay for any repairs - we are under 11m so no government help and no urgency either, which is frustrating! And makes it hard to know what might be affordable, without knowing how much could be needed for any repairs. And of course the final price affects stamp duty.

But I was told that buyers who already own shares and paid stamp duty to start with only on the part that they were buying, are not eligible for any further discounts and don't qualify as first time buyers now, even if they are staircasing on their first property.

It's also frustrating as our housing association is doing a special deal now with a discount for stamp duty, but it only applies in July! Like anyone is going to be able to get the flats valued, sort out a mortgage, and arrange to buy more shares within a month (they only started advertising this week), especially when they are the ones who have no idea when the cladding issues will be sorted and are doing nothing to help, and when you ask anything of their resale team, you're told that they'll get back to your enquiry 'within 30 days'. Unhelpful!! Makes me wonder if they are told they have to do some kind of deal to encourage staircasing, but they've made it so hard to use that they won't actually have to ever give anyone a discount, except people who are already in the process.

My block is 3 storeys c70 flats. There was a drawn out process the HA paid for the cladding works. They started a couple of months ago. They reckon the certificate will be issued by the end of the year. My flat was one of the first to be done and they have just taken my scaffolding down. I don't know if they can issue individual certificates. I suspect not but may ask the question.