One in five homebuyers hit by £7.5k stamp duty

Increasing numbers of homeowners are experiencing the burden of stamp duty on the back of increasing house prices, new research shows.

Figures released by HBOS, show that almost a fifth (19 per cent) of homeowners were stung by the duty to the tune of at least £7,500 last year.

This dwarfs the relatively small six per cent who experienced such charges in 2001.

Tim Crawford, group economist at Halifax, said the reason why more people were paying £7,500 in stamp duty was because the higher percentage threshold for stamp duty, between £250,000 and £500,000, had not been changed since 1997.

However, since 1997, the group estimates that average house prices have risen by 175 per cent, meaning that more homeowners will be experiencing the duty''s effects.

Mr Crawford did laud the measures taken by chancellor Gordon Brown to increase the lower threshold from £60,000 to £120,000 in 2005, a figure which has since been raised by £5,000.

"Threshold increases have an immediate and significant impact for buyers," he added.


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