The decision to raise the threshold above which people have to pay stamp duty on property purchases is set to be reversed three years from now, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has confirmed.
Jeremy Hunt stated during his autumn Budget that the changes to the threshold will be scrapped in 2025. Having previously been set at £125,000, this threshold was raised to £250,000 by the previous Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, but will return to its earlier level in three years’ time. Kwarteng also lifted the threshold for first-time homebuyers, raising it to £425,000 from £300,000, but that too will be reversed in 2025.
Hunt stated during his Budget announcement that the Office for Budget Responsibility was predicting a slowdown in housing market activity during the next couple of years and that was why the date for reversing the stamp duty changes had been set for 2025.
Speaking to Financial Reporter, Tim Bannister, a property expert at Rightmove, said that the news would likely spark more short term activity, as people look to buy before that date.
He then added:
“As it’s still in place for a couple of years we don’t foresee a significant number of people bringing their plans forward to 2023, especially due to current affordability challenges, but we may see a jump in new sellers towards the end of next year and into 2024 to ensure they can move in time.”
Advisors with CeMAP training may now be guiding first-time buyers towards completing their home purchases before the threshold lowers again.
