Research carried out by Daniel Watney has shown that the average saving on stamp duty will be a fifth of what George Osborne announced in his Autumn Statement.
The chancellor is accused of choosing ONS average house price figures to accentuate savings. These house price figures sit just above the level where the slab-tax system would have introduced large hikes.
Osborne’s figure for the average house price was £275,000, resulting in a saving of £4,500, but using other sources this figure drops significantly.
The Land Registry puts the price of the average home at £177,000, resulting in a saving of £730. Nationwide’s average figure of £189,000 means that figure falls to £610.
Julian Goddard, head of residential at Daniel Watney, said: “The levelling out of the previous system should be welcomed, as its slab-like construction was deeply unfair for those buying any home that tipped into a higher bracket, but the government’s claim of average savings of nearly £5,000 are misleading.”
