First-time buyers and stamp duty in London
Following Mr Sunak’s announcement on July 8 of the stamp duty ‘holiday’ for buyers in England and Northern Ireland, no stamp duty is payable on the first £500,000 of a property purchase.
So, the first-time buyer paying £450,000 for a London property will now pay no stamp duty at all.
Stamp duty in London: Non-first-time buyers
The average price for a property in London currently stands at £628,284, according to the latest Rightmove data. So, under the new stamp duty rules, a buyer purchasing a property for that price would save £15,000 on stamp duty compared with the old rules.
Property investors in London
In a major boost for property investors and landlords, Mr Sunak confirmed the stamp duty ‘holiday’ would also apply to them. Buy-to-let investors and those buying second homes will still need to pay an additional 3% stamp duty surcharge on additional homes.
Help to Buy and stamp duty in London
The stamp duty ‘holiday’ is likely to see applications for Help to Buy in London spike in the coming months, so buyers looking to use the government equity loans could expect to see some delays in processing. Help to Buy in London sees the government lend up to 40% of a property’s purchase price, with the buyer only needing a 5% deposit and a 55% mortgage.
The scheme is open to first-time buyers and existing homeowners buying new-build properties in London up to a maximum value of £600,000.
Where are the stamp duty holiday hotspots in the Capital?
Post-lockdown buyers have shown a huge amount of interest in locations in the Capital where it is possible to buy a three-bedroom family home for less than £500,000. These include Harrow, north-west London; East Ham, in east London; Edmonton in north London and Morden in south London. Bow, Lewisham, and Deptford are also proving to be hugely popular.
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