The Government’s announcement that it is scrapping stamp duty for all homes under £175,000, has received a lukewarm reception from consumers, according to leading home move website Moveme.com.

According to its latest consumer poll*, the majority of the nation’s consumers are far from impressed with the Government’s latest efforts to improve the housing market, with 73% claiming that the revision to stamp duty will not help to get the market moving, and an overwhelming 80% claiming it would not encourage them to move.

Keith McNeilly, Co-founder of Moveme.com, comments:

“The Government’s rescue package, released this week, has failed to meet the expectations of much of the industry and aspiring home buyers. While a revision to a lower stamp duty band is welcome, the Government has not gone far enough to make any significant impact on our ailing property market.

“A complete overhaul of the archaic stamp duty system is needed, along with action to improve liquidity in the mortgage market if we are to successfully revive an industry so crucial to the economy.”

Moveme.com is calling on Government to scrap stamp duty for all homes under £250,000 and to take immediate action to increase lending.

CASE STUDIES

The first time buyer

First time buyer Jason Davies, a Retail Business Manager looking to buy in Buckinghamshire, says the Government's scrapping of stamp duty under £175,000 will do nothing to help him in his bid to get onto the property ladder:

"I have been looking to buy for a number of months but with a small deposit and such strict lending criteria it's proving almost impossible. The most I could save under the Government's new stamp duty reform is £1,750 and while any saving is good news, this is not going to be the deciding factor between me being able to afford my first home and not.

"Bearing in mind I only have a small deposit, I am also more than a little wary of the potential consequences of getting into negative equity should I ever manage to get onto the property ladder - a further challenge facing today's buyers."

The seller

Rebecca Entwisele, a teacher from Nottingham, who has been trying to sell her three bedroom semi detached home in Mansfield for the last seven months is not impressed with the Government's limited stamp duty reform:

"While the recent stamp duty reform may prove helpful when I am looking to buy my next home, until I can sell my existing property I am trapped. Simply increasing the lowest stamp duty threshold by £50,000 is not enough, and will do nothing to help my sale. Too many consumers are being put off by the current negative sentiment in the market and this needs to be addressed."