What does the stamp duty cut mean for Chester home buyers?

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has announced a reduction in stamp duty in his mini-budget today in an attempt to keep the UK housing market moving and support first-time buyers to put down roots.

The level at which stamp duty kicks in has been doubled from £125,000 to £250,000 and the threshold for first-time buyers has been increased from £300,000 to £425,000.

This will come as welcome news to Chester home buyers, particularly those at the lower end of the market at a time when the country’s economic growth is slowing down and inflation is rapidly rising.

Here are the main points following the stamp duty reduction:  

• The first £250,000 of a property’s value will now be exempt from stamp duty.
• Buyers will pay 5% of the value of the home from £250,001-£925,000.
• The portion between £925,001 and £1.5m will continue to be taxed at 10%, and any property worth more than that will be subject to stamp duty rates of 12%.
• The reduction came into force from midnight on Friday 23 September and will be permanent. It also applies to those who have exchanged on a property, but not yet completed.

The announcement will open up more choice of properties available to first-time buyers (subject to affordability), and it could even push demand up even further for properties around the £200,000-£250,000 mark. It could also encourage those who are ‘sitting on the fence’ about putting their property on the market to now take the plunge which will bring much-needed stock to a currently supply-constrained market.

Rebecca Matthew, Director at Matthews says: “This will come as great news to first time buyers and those with a budget of up to £250,000, especially as house prices continue to rise, it makes it a lot more viable for them to purchase a home.”

Alex Horne, Senior Valuer at Matthews comments: “The reduction in stamp duty will certainly help lower the cost burden of purchasing a home, particularly for those at the lower end of the market, but we also hope it will help the shortage of supply, which is still the biggest problem facing the Chester property market right now.”  

If you have any questions regarding the stamp duty reduction, or would like a free property valuation on your home following the announcement, contact our friendly sales team on 01244 346226.