Estate Agents Call For Package of Govt Measures
The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has called for government measures to further aid the housing market recovery and avoid sending Britain into a ‘W’ shaped recession.
The NAEA, in a submission delivered to Downing Street, wants the government to immediately extend the current stamp duty holiday and conduct a longer-term review into the function of stamp duty.
It also wants Alistair Darling to intervene in the mortgage markets to encourage banks to lend again, improve access to finance for first time buyers and suspend Home Information Packs.
Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, said: “The current stamp duty holiday, for properties up to £175,000, is due to cease at the end of this year. This, coupled with the reversion of VAT to its original rate of 17.5% - and possibly beyond in the future - threatens to cause damage to the fragile recovery we have so far seen in housing sales, just at the time when further stimulus is drastically needed.
“It is clear that stamp duty is an outdated and unpopular tax that is out of date and out of place in today’s world. The NAEA calls on the Government to commit to examining the future of the tax to see how it can be amended to produce less regional inequality and to stop it acting as a barrier to entry to the housing market. We would welcome the chance to be part of this review.”