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| Budget 2017: What does the stamp duty change mean? | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Stamp duty will be abolished immediately for first-time buyers purchasing a home of up to £300,000, Chancellor Philip Hammond has said. | Stamp duty will be abolished immediately for first-time buyers purchasing a home of up to £300,000, Chancellor Philip Hammond has said. |
| In London and other high price areas, first-time buyers will be able to buy a house worth up to £500,000 and pay no stamp duty on the first £300,000. | In London and other high price areas, first-time buyers will be able to buy a house worth up to £500,000 and pay no stamp duty on the first £300,000. |
| This means that 80% of first-time buyers will pay no stamp duty, he said. | |
| The change will apply in England and Northern Ireland, and in Wales up until the end of March, but not in Scotland. | The change will apply in England and Northern Ireland, and in Wales up until the end of March, but not in Scotland. |
| "This is our plan to deliver on the pledge we have made to the next generation that the dream of home ownership will become a reality in this country once again," Mr Hammond said. | "This is our plan to deliver on the pledge we have made to the next generation that the dream of home ownership will become a reality in this country once again," Mr Hammond said. |
| Estate agent Savills estimates that the average stamp duty bill for first-time buyers is about £2,700. | |
| For most first-time buyers, the deposit is the biggest up-front cost. The average deposit outside London is £24,000 and in London it is £72,000. | |
| Helping more people to buy their first home is part of a Conservative push to win back younger voters, many of whom opted for Labour at the last election. | |
| Home ownership has fallen in recent years, with 62.9% of the estimated 22.8m households in England being owner-occupiers in 2015-16, the Department for Communities and Local Government found. That is down from 70.9% in 2003. | |
| Just 20% of those aged 25 own a property, compared with 46% two decades ago, according to the Local Government Association. Almost half of those aged 24 to 34 in England pay rent to a private landlord. |