What would help first time buyers?

I think this is a good move for all buyers. With property prices already sky high, first time buyers who, a couple years ago, could purchase their dream home with no stamp duty, are finding themselves having to pay this due to the higher value property. Increasing the threshold provides the buyer with more flexibility and options. This will get more people moving, more homes up for sale, and more stock available on the market. This should then ease the current supply and demand issue which led to overpriced bidding wars soaring property values. I personally think raising the Help to Buy ISA qualifying limit needs to follow. Many buyers still have their funds in a HTB ISA, and are restricted to property values of £250,000 (outside London). The value of properties up to £250,000 is not practical for many first time buyers as this does not reflect reality of the current overpriced market, the scheme is then unusable and they would then need to withdraw their funds losing the government bonus they have been counting on towards their deposit.

For non first time buyers it's going to give them a savings of £2,500 on their stamp duty bill which will be a welcome change given how fast house prices have risen in the last 18 months. For first time buyers, the increase to the limit is likely only going to help the already wealthy and won't benefit the masses. Ultimately, given it's not a huge saving and only benefits a small number of first time buyers I don't see this as a repeat of last time when the housing market took off quicker than a rocket ship. The lack of supply of houses available for sale still remains a real issue and a £2,500 saving for someone to move doesn't seem like a huge incentive given how much more expensive mortgages have become. My main concern for many first time buyers is the help to buy scheme closing next month without an adequate replacement to make a dent in more first time buyers making their way onto the housing ladder.

Whilst this measure could inflate house prices in the short term, I know lots of first time buyers across the south that will benefit from the increases to the first time buyer relief. This will also benefit home movers and landlords expanding their portfolio, however that may not be a bad thing, adding more stock to the rental property market.

"Why does every Chancellor insist on messing about with Stamp Duty? It artificially inflates house prices. If they really think it stops people buying homes then they should scrap it altogether. And if they need to replace the lost tax income? Replace it with a tax on profit when you sell your house. You might find that suddenly it is not as attractive to make a huge profit which then makes houses more affordable for first time buyers."

This is not enough, a bold move would have been to reduce it across all the thresholds. This would encourage people to move when the mortgage costs have increased significantly. Mortgages have increased for everyone, not just people looking to buy up to £250,000.

In terms of social mobility, stamp duty is a huge impediment to people moving, so the changes in that sense are to be welcomed, particularly for first-time buyers. But it smacks of a desperate move to prop up house prices, by encouraging transactions just before its apparent prices are falling.

First-time home buyers have to contend with issues on affordability as soaring inflation continues to drive down real earnings. Majority of these are millennials whose real wages cannot keep up with house prices, denying them of home ownership. The government must introduce policies that will allow potential buyers to absorb higher interest rates on their mortgages as we expect a series of interest hikes by the BOE in the coming months. The BOE can review its mortgage affordability stress test and loosen the criteria for these buyers but still careful not to raise risks.