The arrival of spring and the lifting of the stamp duty threshold to ?250,000 ought to give a boost to the first-time buyer property market.
The stamp duty exemption is scheduled to last for two years and initial signs are that first-time buyers are being tempted into the market. Moneysupermarket.com said it has seen a 15 per cent rise in web users looking at mortgage deals.
Hannah-Mercedes Skenfield of the price comparison website, said that it was clear that most people welcomed the Chancellor?s measures. ?Having just had one of the busiest weekends of the year for house-hunting, the first-time buyer could well be back after months of hibernation,? she told the Telegraph.co.uk website.
House prices have struggled since the credit crisis began and sellers have been reluctant to put their properties on the market. Paradoxically, the very lack of supply has caused prices to rise. Now, with conditions improving, an increasing number of houses available could create a buyer?s market.
Nationwide?s latest house price survey showed a 0.7 per cent increase in property prices in March. This has meant that prices have risen by 9 per cent in the last year, to an average of ?164,519 across the country.
Nationwide?s chief economist, Martin Gahbauer, said that it was not yet a buyer?s market, but the balance was shifting. ?We have some indication that more property is coming on to the market, but cheap mortgage deals are still encouraging some sellers to stay put,? he said. Low mortgage payments means there is little incentive to move or sell, he explained.
Mr Gahbauer said that it was too early to say whether the stamp duty exemption up to ?250,000 would make a difference.
