Stamp duty reform at heart of NAEA's ideas for next month's Budget

Stamp duty reform lies at the heart of the submission by the National Association of Estate Agents ahead of next month’s Budget on November 22.

Like other organisations, the association has put ideas forward to the Treasury.

It wants first time buyers to be exempt from stamp duty. It says that lower incomes for younger people since the 2008 financial crash, combined with limited access to mortgage finance, means that homeownership rates amongst young people are declining.

“To encourage more people into home ownership, NAEA Propertymark believe that the government should exempt first-time buyers from paying stamp duty” it says.

Additionally, the NAEA wants pensioners who downsize to a smaller home to be exempt from paying stamp duty.

Two years ago the association’s Housing 2025 report claimed some 1.1m households in England and Wales (4.5 per cent of the total) were overcrowded. However 16.1 million households (69 per cent of the total) were under occupied.

“By making it easier for older people to sell their homes, it will free up family-sized homes for the next generation and boost housing supply. The Government should also explore additional incentives such as access to over-65s bonds with market-beating returns for downsizers” says the NAEA.

In order to boost housing supply, the three per cent stamp duty surcharge should be scrapped to encourage more buy to let units.

NAEA Propertymark has also reiterated its call for the regulation of estate agents, improved guidance around the Consumer Protection Regulations, and the need for stringent codes of practices to ensure that fees are brought to the attention of prospective buyers.