The chancellor has today announced a cut to stamp duty in order to stimulate housing market activity amidst interest rate increases and rising house prices.
Stamp duty is a tax you pay when you buy a property over a certain value. Home movers won’t pay stamp duty on the first £250,000 of the property sale price and for first-time buyers, the threshold is now £425,000. This change is effective immediately.
This won’t impact the vast majority of first time buyers, as from PropertyPal’s data, we know that the average price of a first time buyer property in Northern Ireland is £155,900 (data from our August snapshot report). However, there is concern that this cut could push up prices in the long run, therefore negatively impacting first time buyers.
For home movers this may make a difference. However, although some home movers may have relief from the stamp duty cut, they may be affected by the Bank of England’s interest rate increase, which could affect their monthly mortgage repayments. Read more about the interest rate increase and how it impacts you here.
Last modified: 23/09/2022
