The Treasury gained £3.30bn from stamp duty receipts on property purchases in the final quarter of 2019, according to the latest figures from HMRC.

The figure reflected a marginal rise from £3.29bn during the same quarter in 2018, with residential receipts also remaining unchanged. Non-residential receipts increased by less than 2%.

In its Quarterly Stamp Duty Land Statistics release, HMRC also revealed there were 314,700 transactions in the final quarter of the year, which was less than a 1% fall from the 315,300 transactions during the same period a year earlier.

The data also showed that 62,800 of the transactions claimed first time buyers’ (FTBs) relief during the quarter, making a total of 464,700 claims since the relief’s introduction.

“Approaching half a million FTBs have saved over £1.1bn in stamp duty since the relief was introduced in November 2017, representing a saving of about £2,360 each,” AJ Bell senior analyst, Tom Selby, commented. “The tax break means those who buy a first home worth £300,000 or less pay no stamp duty, while those buying a property worth up to £500,000 pay a lower rate.

“FTB relief has clearly been seized upon by younger people, and when coupled with the £1,000 a year bonus available through the Lifetime ISA and the Help to Buy initiative, represents a serious boost to those looking to claw their way onto the property ladder.

“Despite these efforts, the substantial deposits required to buy a property in 2020 – with eye-watering figures approaching £30,000 now the norm – mean for many owning their own home remains a far-flung fantasy.

“All eyes now turn to the Budget on 11 March, with a new Government potentially wanting to set out a new agenda across a range of policy areas – including for young people and aspiring homeowners.”

Chairman of the property developer Southern Grove, Andrew Southern, added that the FTB relief scheme’s effect over the past two years had been important, but ‘barely scratches the surface’ of the impact of the Help to Buy scheme.

“In the long run it is vital that both schemes are an addition to house building, not a replacement, and don’t serve as a political distraction to the fundamental mechanics of the market,” Grove said.

“Both schemes will come under pressure if a rumoured new urgency among buyers since Christmas pushes valuations higher. This is looking increasingly likely. Rumours of a ‘Boris Bounce’ have been getting estate agents on the front line very excited.

“A subsequent recovery in sales volumes would be welcome, and would give the house building industry more confidence, but if demand dominates supply as is looking likely, it is younger buyers and those fighting to get on the housing ladder who still stand to be the losers as affordability is squeezed further.

“These affordability problems will be exacerbated if a wave of foreign money re-enters the country in the wake of Brexit, as was widely predicted last year.”

Share Story: