20 things

20 things you should know about

6 October 2007

1 Research from Halifax has revealed that Stamp Duty revenue from residential sales rose by 40 per cent in 2006-2007.

2 As a result Stamp Duty revenue reached its highest level, at £6.4 billion.

3 Over the past five years annual residential Stamp Duty revenue experienced a 140 per cent rise.

4 Residential Stamp Duty revenue raised at the higher Stamp Duty bands, of 3 per cent on sales between £250,000 and £500,000, and 4 per cent above £500,000 accounted for 79 per cent of all residential Stamp Duty revenue in 2006-2007.

5 Higher Stamp Duty band revenue reached £5.1 billion in 2006-2007.

6Stamp Duty revenue raised from sales of properties valued at more than £250,000 rose by 208 per cent in the past five years.

7 This figure rose from £1.6 billion in 2001-2002 to £5.1 billion in 2006-2007.

8 Residential Stamp Duty revenue has more than doubled in two regions in the past year – Northern Ireland, up 126 per cent to £125 million, and the South West, up 121 per cent to £1 billion.

9 25 per cent of properties in the UK – 5.4 million – are now valued above the £250,000 Stamp Duty threshold.

10 A further 900,000 are valued above the £500,000 threshold.

11 London and the South East account for 60 per cent of properties valued above £250,000 and 72 per cent of homes valued above the £500,000 threshold.

12 The average first-time buyer in the UK pays £168,770 for their property, incurring a 1 per cent Stamp Duty bill of £1,688, according to the study.

13 However, the report showed that the average first-time buyer house price is less than £125,000 in six regions – the North, Yorkshire & the Humber, the North West, East Midlands, Wales and Scotland – with no Stamp Duty payable.

14 The average price paid by a first-time buyer in London is £279,659, incurring a 3 per cent Stamp Duty bill of £8,390.

15 Across the UK, 89 per cent of first-time buyers pay less than £250,000 to buy their first property.

16Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax, said: “The revenue generated from Stamp Duty on property purchases has soared as governments of both political parties have failed to link thresholds to house price inflation.”

17 He added: “We call on the government to raise all the Stamp Duty thresholds to reflect the increase in house prices over the past decade.”

18 The current £250,000 and £500,000 Stamp Duty bands have been in place since July 1997.

19 The Stamp Duty bands have not been increased since 1997, but the percentage payable has increased, from 1.5 per cent for properties between £250,000 and £500,000 to 3 per cent currently.

20For properties above £500,000 the percentage payable has increased from 2 per cent to 4 per cent.