Estate agents are waiting with baited breath as the Chancellor Rishi Sunak is today expected to announce a Stamp Duty holiday.
There are rumours that the property tax could be scrapped on values up to £500,000 and start immediately.
Rightmove has crunched the numbers on which areas would benefit the most from the savings if the Stamp Duty threshold was raised to £500,000.
The savings are based on those who are not first-time buyers, as they already have an exemption up to £300,000, and are places where the current average asking price is between £450,000 and £500,000.
The portal’s research found most the regions set to benefit would be in the south east of England, making up 19 of the 28 areas in the £450,000 to £500,000 price bracket.
The biggest savings would be in Dorking, Surrey where the average asking price is £498,422, which would create savings of £14,921 if there was no Stamp Duty to pay.
Buyers in Lymington, Hampshire, would save £14,916 on the average asking price of £498,326.
Only two areas from the north west, Bramhall and Wilmslow appear in the list, where buyers could save more than £13,000 on Stamp Duty.
These figures of course assume that the properties sell at asking price.
Miles Shipside, housing market analyst for Rightmove, said: “Buyers in higher priced areas with bigger deposits would benefit most if the Stamp Duty threshold was raised to £500,000.
“If it is included in the summer update it needs to be made clear what it would mean for people home hunting or currently going through the conveyancing process right now, as an announcement now that doesn’t come into play until the Autumn will only lead to people delaying their plans.
“There’s currently record housing demand but the market also needs the ability for lenders to extend the availability of low deposit mortgages, vital to healthy first-time buyer volumes that help drive the rest of the market.
“A Stamp Duty holiday without better mortgage availability isn’t really helpful for hard pressed potential first-time buyers who are already mainly exempt from it anyway.”
Area |
Region |
Average asking price |
Potential Stamp Duty saving |
Dorking, Surrey |
South East |
£498,422 |
£14,921 |
Lymington, Hampshire |
South East |
£498,326 |
£14,916 |
Sunbury-On-Thames, Surrey |
South East |
£498,088 |
£14,904 |
Barton On Sea, New Milton, Hampshire |
South East |
£497,853 |
£14,893 |
Lewes, East Sussex |
South East |
£491,304 |
£14,565 |
Broxbourne, Hertfordshire |
East of England |
£486,701 |
£14,335 |
Hove, East Sussex |
South East |
£481,455 |
£14,073 |
Oxford, Oxfordshire |
South East |
£479,099 |
£13,955 |
Leckhampton, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire |
South West |
£477,518 |
£13,876 |
Hertford, Hertfordshire |
East of England |
£477,431 |
£13,872 |
Borehamwood, Hertfordshire |
East of England |
£476,791 |
£13,840 |
Camberley, Surrey |
South East |
£474,384 |
£13,719 |
Egham, Surrey |
South East |
£473,213 |
£13,661 |
Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire |
North West |
£472,053 |
£13,603 |
Fleet, Hampshire |
South East |
£471,653 |
£13,583 |
Wallingford, Oxfordshire |
South East |
£469,082 |
£13,454 |
Caterham, Surrey |
South East |
£467,885 |
£13,394 |
Wilmslow, Cheshire |
North West |
£467,443 |
£13,372 |
Tunbridge Wells, Kent |
South East |
£467,145 |
£13,357 |
Bath, Somerset |
South West |
£464,617 |
£13,231 |
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire |
East of England |
£464,007 |
£13,200 |
Chesham, Buckinghamshire |
South East |
£462,210 |
£13,110 |
Caversham, Reading, Berkshire |
South East |
£460,747 |
£13,037 |
Burnham, Slough, Berkshire |
South East |
£459,634 |
£12,982 |
Tonbridge, Kent |
South East |
£456,293 |
£12,815 |
Hitchin, Hertfordshire |
East of England |
£453,389 |
£12,669 |
Staines, Surrey |
South East |
£452,219 |
£12,611 |
West Malling, Kent |
South East |
£450,553 |
£12,528 |
Area |
Borough |
Average asking price |
Potential Stamp Duty saving |
Orpington |
Bromley |
£497,852 |
£14,893 |
Burnt Oak |
Barnet |
£497,839 |
£14,892 |
Chingford |
Waltham Forest |
£493,462 |
£14,673 |
Sydenham |
Lewisham |
£492,960 |
£14,648 |
Walthamstow |
Waltham Forest |
£492,755 |
£14,638 |
Wembley |
Brent |
£482,929 |
£14,146 |
Harrow |
Harrow |
£482,691 |
£14,135 |
Biggin Hill |
Bromley |
£478,702 |
£13,935 |
Blackfen |
Bexley |
£470,013 |
£13,501 |
Greenford |
Ealing |
£465,798 |
£13,290 |
Deptford |
Lewisham |
£465,670 |
£13,283 |
Forest Gate |
Newham |
£464,455 |
£13,223 |
Norwood |
Croydon |
£462,172 |
£13,109 |
Hounslow |
Hounslow |
£460,371 |
£13,019 |
Hornchurch |
Havering |
£459,108 |
£12,955 |
Sutton |
Sutton |
£457,251 |
£12,863 |
Tottenham |
Haringey |
£457,091 |
£12,855 |
Kingsbury |
Barnet |
£456,129 |
£12,806 |
Heston |
Hounslow |
£452,837 |
£12,642 |
Barkingside |
Redbridge |
£447,356 |
£12,368 |
To work out the area’s most likely to benefit would you not be better looking at average salaries among ‘second and third steppers’ allied to job security in the region? Plus debt levels among the relevant demographics. House prices won’t tell you anything about means or desire to move.
If people don’t move, or move in low numbers then thee benefit is low despite any relevance in house price.
In an area 15% above that which should benefit a cut could increase mobility by a factor that could increase the benefit massively.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
It doesnt affect us directly in Wales but it will be interesting to see what happens….
1/ It better be immediate in England (or as near as) …
2/ Whether we’ll get funding in Wales to do the same…
3/ Since weve got some recent friction between Westminster and Cardiff who knows?
God help the Chancellors in future years who are going to have to claw back all this money from us……
I think Rishi Sunaks done a good job so far ….but giving it away is the easy part….
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
If they cant get it from VAT or stamp duty then expect personal allowance to stay unchanged for a while and an increase in National Insurance, car tax, alcohol, tobacco, imports (presumably including EU), petrol, Lower local government support, cuts in defence and although they will “ring fence” the NHS, in reality they will freeze it’s income. Corporation tax will either fall or stay the same, capital gains tax will increase, inheritance tax will also increase, council tax will go up, interest rates will stay low (subject to global & US interest rates).
Where ever they can squeeze they will, Interest Rates obviously aren’t a tax but everything is hand in hand.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register