The abolition of stamp duty on residential property up to the value of £150,000 has been hailed as a positive message but one unlikely to deliver significant change.
In his pre-Budget report last week, the Chancellor announced the end of stamp duty on transactions of up to £150,000 in 2,000 of the most deprived UK wards, amounting to 15% of England and Wales.
Agents said that they expected to see it act as a marginal incentive, particularly for right-to-buy tenants hoping to purchase their homes and first- or second-time buyers.
But it is not expected to have much impact on the deprived areas, where values are often lower than the previous £60,000 threshold for stamp duty.
Chris Brown, chair of the RICS regeneration panel, said: “It’s significant only insomuch as it sends out the right signal, but the amounts of money targeted are very small. It’s not great.”
Barry Davis, managing director of Newcastle agent Blandfords, said he expected to see a little more buoyancy in the market. He also pointed out that the changes should benefit self builders seeking development plots which, he said, trade at around £100,000 in good areas in the North East.
