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| Budget: Stamp duty scrapped for first time buyers on property up to £300,000 | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Stamp duty will be scrapped immediately for first-time buyers of homes below £300,000, as the Chancellor put Britain’s housing crisis at the heart of his Budget. | Stamp duty will be scrapped immediately for first-time buyers of homes below £300,000, as the Chancellor put Britain’s housing crisis at the heart of his Budget. |
| Philip Hammond said the move would cut the tax for 95 per cent of first-time buyers – and abolish it altogether for 80 per cent of them. | Philip Hammond said the move would cut the tax for 95 per cent of first-time buyers – and abolish it altogether for 80 per cent of them. |
| “When we say we would revive the home owning dream in Britain, we meant it,” he told the Commons, to Tory cheers. | “When we say we would revive the home owning dream in Britain, we meant it,” he told the Commons, to Tory cheers. |
| Mr Hammond added that, in London and other property hotspots, stamp duty would be axed on the first £300,000 of a purchase price up to £500,000 – a cut of up to £5,000. | Mr Hammond added that, in London and other property hotspots, stamp duty would be axed on the first £300,000 of a purchase price up to £500,000 – a cut of up to £5,000. |
| The move came as he promised a wide-ranging package to boost housebuilding, setting a target of an annual 300,000 homes built by the middle of the next decade. | The move came as he promised a wide-ranging package to boost housebuilding, setting a target of an annual 300,000 homes built by the middle of the next decade. |
| Higher capital funding, loans and guarantees, plus measures to boost the supply of skills, resources and land, would add up to £44bn, he said. | Higher capital funding, loans and guarantees, plus measures to boost the supply of skills, resources and land, would add up to £44bn, he said. |
| And the Chancellor stole another Labour policy, with a threat of what have been dubbed “use-it-or-lose-it” powers to target developers who hoard land but refuse to build. | And the Chancellor stole another Labour policy, with a threat of what have been dubbed “use-it-or-lose-it” powers to target developers who hoard land but refuse to build. |
| When the policy was first pledged by Ed Miliband, before the 2015 election, some Conservatives claimed it was a Marxist measure worthy of Venezuela. | When the policy was first pledged by Ed Miliband, before the 2015 election, some Conservatives claimed it was a Marxist measure worthy of Venezuela. |
| But Mr Hammond told the Commons that compulsory purchase powers would follow if backed in an “urgent review” to report back by next Spring. | But Mr Hammond told the Commons that compulsory purchase powers would follow if backed in an “urgent review” to report back by next Spring. |
| “If it finds vitally needed land is being withheld from the market for commercial, rather than technical, reasons, we will intervene,” MPs were told. | “If it finds vitally needed land is being withheld from the market for commercial, rather than technical, reasons, we will intervene,” MPs were told. |
| There were a total of 270,000 residential planning permissions which remained unbuilt in London, the Chancellor said. | There were a total of 270,000 residential planning permissions which remained unbuilt in London, the Chancellor said. |
| The stamp duty cut – the clear Budget “rabbit – is likely to be criticised by some for risking a further fuelling of house price inflation, until mores homes are built. | The stamp duty cut – the clear Budget “rabbit – is likely to be criticised by some for risking a further fuelling of house price inflation, until mores homes are built. |
| But it was welcomed as a “promising move from the Government which will no doubt be welcomed by thousands of younger buyers”, by Jeremy Duncombe, director of the Legal & General Mortgage Club. | But it was welcomed as a “promising move from the Government which will no doubt be welcomed by thousands of younger buyers”, by Jeremy Duncombe, director of the Legal & General Mortgage Club. |
| “For too long, stamp duty has stood as just another barrier to homeownership, another cost to overcome, but with this exemption the path to owning a home has been made just that bit easier,” he said. | “For too long, stamp duty has stood as just another barrier to homeownership, another cost to overcome, but with this exemption the path to owning a home has been made just that bit easier,” he said. |
| The review will be chaired by Oliver Letwin, the former Conservative Cabinet minister, to explore the big gap between planning permissions and housing starts. | The review will be chaired by Oliver Letwin, the former Conservative Cabinet minister, to explore the big gap between planning permissions and housing starts. |
| It remit will be to “facilitate delivery of sufficient new homes, where they are most needed, to deliver a sustained improvement in affordability”. | It remit will be to “facilitate delivery of sufficient new homes, where they are most needed, to deliver a sustained improvement in affordability”. |
| The big developers have been accused of exercising an iron grip on the pace of housebuilding, with no commercial incentive to build faster unless prices are on the rise. | The big developers have been accused of exercising an iron grip on the pace of housebuilding, with no commercial incentive to build faster unless prices are on the rise. |
| But they have rejected accusations of land-hoarding, insisting delays are often caused by a cumbersome planning system and failures by local authority planners. | But they have rejected accusations of land-hoarding, insisting delays are often caused by a cumbersome planning system and failures by local authority planners. |
| Cash for house-building will include a £630m small sites fund, £2.7bn to more than double the Housing Infrastructure Fund, £400m for estate regeneration, £8bn of new financial guarantees to support private house-building and an additional £34mn to develop construction skills, Mr Hammond said. | Cash for house-building will include a £630m small sites fund, £2.7bn to more than double the Housing Infrastructure Fund, £400m for estate regeneration, £8bn of new financial guarantees to support private house-building and an additional £34mn to develop construction skills, Mr Hammond said. |
| Mr Hammond defended the Government’s housebuilding record, claiming 1.1m homes had been built since 2010, of which 350,000 were “affordable”. | Mr Hammond defended the Government’s housebuilding record, claiming 1.1m homes had been built since 2010, of which 350,000 were “affordable”. |
| But he warned that the proportion of young homeowners had plunged from 59 per cent of young people to just 38 per cent over 13 years. | But he warned that the proportion of young homeowners had plunged from 59 per cent of young people to just 38 per cent over 13 years. |
| “We need to do better still if we are to see affordability improved,” Mr Hammond admitted. | “We need to do better still if we are to see affordability improved,” Mr Hammond admitted. |