Skipton Group urges Government to reconsider stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers as acute affordability challenges persist

First-time buyers have less than a week to complete house purchases before major stamp duty changes come into force.

Alarming research from Skipton Group’s unique Home Affordability Index reveals that the proportion of local authority areas in England where the average first-time buyer home falls in scope of stamp duty will almost quadruple overnight from 8.4% to 32.0% on April 1.

The reforms will add £6,250 to the cost of buying a first home worth £425,000. And this compounds Skipton’s findings that almost 90% of potential first-time buyers in Great Britain today cannot afford to get onto the property ladder based on their own financial situation.

Meanwhile Skipton, which is part of the Skipton Group, is pulling out all the stops to support members in beating the stamp duty deadline. The building society this month is already seeing a 54% increase in people seeking to complete on their house purchase compared to March last year, as buyers race to complete their purchases before 1 April. Of those customers, 50% are first-time buyers desperately trying to get their purchase over the line and save on stamp duty.

To support those who don’t manage to complete their house purchase before the stamp duty deadline, Skipton yesterday (24 March) launched a new cashback product range.

The five-year fixed products - at 60/75/85/90/95% LTV will be a helping hand for homebuyers, providing up to 1.50% cashback, which will be paid directly into their bank account 15 days following completion. The Society is also guaranteeing to complete all submitted cases where conveyancers have sent across certificates of title by no later than March 25.

Charlotte Harrison, CEO of Home Financing at Skipton said:“Our teams will work round the clock, doing extra hours to help as many first-time buyers complete before the stamp duty changes. We’re doing all we can to help but appreciate how worrying it is for some to know that if their chain does not complete in time, they face additional extra costs.

“Our Home Affordability Index research shows that the country has a chronic lack of home affordability and is about to get even worse. The upcoming stamp duty reforms will further hurt first-time buyers and Skipton Group has been actively urging the government to maintain the current nil rate stamp duty threshold of £425,000 for people buying their first home.

“The new mortgage launch is another example of our innovative product range designed to help more people get on the property ladder and supporting the next generation of homeowners.”