‘Wake-up call’ on stamp duty holiday reverse

The UK government must reverse its “stubborn” approach to stamp duty and extend the current holiday for first-time buyers, estate agents said yesterday.

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) said figures showing half of first-time buyers have benefited from the scheme were a “wake-up call” to ministers.

The two-year holiday on stamp duty, which raises the threshold for first-time buyers from £125,000 to £250,000, is due to run out next month, and analysts fear this could further weaken the housing market.

HSBC examined first-time buyer loans taken out since the start of the holiday in March 2010 and the end of 2011 and found around half were for a home which would normally have been liable for the duty.

Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA, said: “These figures are a wake-up call for government. We have argued removing stamp duty makes a real difference to people struggling to get on to the property ladder. The government should reverse its stubborn approach to stamp duty and reintroduce the exception for first-time buyers.”