8
Sep
Landlords tipped to benefit from stamp duty change
Buy-to-let landlords may be among the biggest beneficiaries of the
new stamp duty holiday announced last week by chancellor Alistair
Darling, it has been suggested.
Mortgage broker Savills has suggested that the raising of the lower
duty threshold from £125,000 to £175,000 will be a
"win-win" situation for buy-to-let investors, the Financial Times
reports.
Savills director Melanie Bien told the paper: "It is surprising
that the government has included all residential property in its
stamp duty holiday, including buy-to-let."
She added: "I think many landlords did not expect for a moment that
it would apply to them."
Investors are expected to gain by targeting property at the lower
end of the market, which will now include more homes following the
stamp duty change.
The average UK home price is now lower than the threshold, the
latest Halifax house price figures indicated last week, falling to
£174,178.
