Avoid Stamp Duty Tax - last two months!

Hurry, hurry! Only two months left to avoid stamp duty!! (unless the Government extend the tax cut offer)

Back in September Gordon Brown announced that properties costing less than £175,000 will be exempt from stamp duty until the end of December 2009.

Of course this really only helps if you're planning on moving or buying for the first time and personally I can't see many existing homeowners moving under the £175,000 price band.

The average UK house price is around £164,000 and before the stamp duty holiday buyers paying from £125,000 to £250,000 must pay 1 per cent stamp duty tax.

The Government figures are a cut of around £600 million which equates to a maximum saving of £1,750 for people taking advantage of the stamp duty holiday; most likely first time buyers. £1,750 is not to be sniffed at when it comes to house moving costs; the average house move costs around £8,000 - £10,000. The costs for conveyancing can be around £1,200 so a cut back in stamp duty could easily cover the cost of a good conveyancing solicitor.

Gordon Brown said; "Homeowners need to know that we will do everything we can to keep the housing market moving forward."

"Help with stamp duty, help for first-time buyers, help to build more social housing, help to take unsold properties off the housing market and help for people who get into difficulties."

"These are the things a government should do to help us come through what is a difficult situation and show that our economy is resilient and will come through these problems."

I should think so too - It's really is the very least that should be done considering it's the Government and UK banks that got us into the recession in the first place.

My only worry about this is that house prices fell for a very good reason - house prices were far too high; people couldn't afford them. House prices are still now many times more than the average UK salary. Encouraging people to buy houses with mortgages they cannot afford surely is part of the recession cycle starting up again!?

Nathan Jones writes for the cheap conveyancing quotes a UK conveyancing web site offering FREE online conveyancing quotes, in just 10 seconds.