CML calling for reform

He believes these issues should be tackled in November's pre- Budget report and next year's Budget.

Coogan said the threshold for stamp duty should be raised from £60,000 as rising prices meant a million extra first-time buyers would be caught by the tax by next April. "It is a barrier to home ownership," he said. The CML also wants schemes to bypass the affordability issue for first-time buyers by enabling to them to get a mortgage for, say, a half share in the property.