Rishi Sunak's stamp duty holiday is good news for Northamptonshire's house-buyers. The Chancellor zeroed duty on house purchases under £500,000 until March 31 2021 in Wednesday's big announcement — which means a £15,000 saving for buyers.
This move is aimed at helping buyers who have taken a financial hit because of the coronavirus crisis. It is also intended to boost a property market hit by lockdown after four consecutive months of falls in prices according to the Halifax.
Until Wednesday, stamp duty was not charged on the first £125,000 of a property's selling price, with a two per cent rate on properties up to £250,000 and five per cent on the next £675,000.
Property experts suggest the average stamp duty bill will fall by £4,500 with nearly nine out of ten people buying a main home this year paying none at all.
Andy Denny, director of Edward Knight Estate Agents in George Row, said: "Most houses in Northampton are priced below £500,000 so it's a very good thing for us but in central London, the holiday won't make a huge difference to many people. But in Northampton, the benefit will be great as the average house price is around the £250,000 mark."
But if you want to make the most of the saving, though, we took a a look on RightMove to find 12 houses on the market for around £½million in an around Northampton which have all effectively just dropped by three per cent overnight.
Until Wednesday, stamp duty was not charged on the first £125,000 of a property's selling price, with a two per cent rate on properties up to £250,000 and five per cent on the next £675,000.