Saturday, Aug 09, 2008
Whao...even the EAs are finally talking sense now.
FT: Stamp duty talk hits sales
Estate agents say any plans from the government to help first-time buyers onto the property ladder will have no impact on wider house prices - and are jeopardising existing house-sale chains.
Posted by peter_2008 @ 12:20 PM (590 views) Add Comment
6 Comments
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1. bystander said...
" Panda said...
I can assure the readers here that the suspension of stamp duty is a ABSOLUTELY DEFINITE item which was debated no later than June, and there is rather more than this being planned. Initial talks in cabinet concerned a £7,500 "first home purchase" grant, to be paid over a period of some three years, which will be introduced some time in November."
Friday, August 8, 2008 10:31AM
I remembered this post from yesterday, especially as on the blog there were absolutely no replies to this fairly definite prognosis of government policy. Could panda be foreseeing the future, or have some insider information? If so it could mess up the EA's determination for short-termism (get the sales through now and then beg / demand a stamp suspension and alternative help for FTB's when the deals truly dry up).
2. tyrellcorporation said...
If this is true, then the Government are a bunch of sh***ers. Basically bribing people to climb into a hugely inflated housing market that is plunging fast. I don't think it gets more cynical than this!
3. dude said...
Yep. Stamp Duty is a necessary evil -- a tax on the wealthy (remember, you don't have to buy a house, unfortunately our UK beliefs are such that this is seen as a right). The recent 'discussion' on Newsnight just shows the ignorance of this. There Ms Wark tried to do a Paxman on Caroline Flint, the Housing Minister. Unfortunately, Ms Wark's puerile attempts missed the point entirely.
The point is this: lower house prices are what will resolve the housing crisis. Lower house prices will reduce the amount of Stamp Duty. Lower house prices will help the economy by reducing the amount of money that is locked up in property.
Of course I may not have made myself clear, so let me do just that: what the UK economy needs is lower house prices. And for those who have recently bought? Tough! You'll suffer negative equity until the whole economy recovers. And how to get lower house prices -- well the banks are doing that job very well at the moment, by tightening up on credit. But with the rising demand for houses more of those lovely green fields will have to be concreted over. Aw! :-)
Houses are to live in, not for investments. Are you listening, greedy Britons...?
4. Gregooo99 said...
Dude
I agree. My old Mum and Dad never owned anything-we always had a "council rent". Did I feel deprived? Nope because it was the norm in Wigan. We never had "tally"-that is debt and had a week in Blackpool if we were lucky. But what we did have was restful nights-my Dad had to have that because he faced another eight hours in the coalmine. I would argue that he was less a slave than the millions of debtors in the UK right now. George Orwell was just around 30 years ahead of his time I guess.
5. Stevo said...
I feel the term property ladder should be replaced by poverty ladder, I brought years ago when it was a ladder, start with a dumpy old terrace,your dad and mates helped you get the place straight, then you moved in and slowly improved the place, then it was move to a semi then a detached, and then more first timers got there turn,half the time you would not know what your home was worth, it was almost your duty to move out of the terrace within five years to let the first timers in, what went wrong?
6. landofconfusion said...
> 5. Stevo said...
>
> what went wrong?
BTL'ers and greed.