Towns where homebuyers could make biggest savings from stamp duty cut revealed

8 July 2020, 08:38 | Updated: 8 July 2020, 11:21

The biggest potential savings for homebuyers are in Hampshire and Surrey.

With the government reportedly considering a six-month stamp duty holiday for people in England and Northern Ireland, some towns in the UK could benefit more than others.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will deliver a statement on Wednesday, in which he is expected to announce that stamp duty will be suspended on the first £500,000 of a property's value.

This is a huge increase from the previous threshold of £125,000, which could save homebuyers thousands of pounds.

And now Rightmove has predicted where buyers could make the biggest savings on their tax bill if they were looking to move house - most of which are in Southern England.

For an average home outside of London, Surrey's Dorking in Hampshire topped the list.

Those wanting to move here could save up to £14,921, based on an average house price in the area of £498,422.

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Lymington in Hampshire followed closely behind, with potential savings of £14,916, based on an average house price of £498,326.

Next up, homeowners could make stamp duty savings of £14,904 on the average house price of £498,088.

Other locations which made the top ten include Barton-On-Sea in Hampshire, Lewes in East Sussex and Borehamwood in Hertfordshire.

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In London, Orpington in Bromley topped Rightmove’s list, as well as Burney Oak in Barnet, Chingford in Waltham Forest, and Sydenham in Lewisham.

Richard Donnell, research and insight director at Zoopla, also explained that if the stamp duty threshold is raised to £500,000, the greatest benefit will be found across southern England "where there are more homes with average prices closer to £500,000".

Rightmove’s data only included places where the current average asking price is between £450,000 and £500,000, and didn’t include first-time buyers.

What is stamp duty?

Stamp duty is a tax you pay if you buy a property or land over a certain price in England and Northern Ireland.

How much tax you pay goes up as the value of the property increases.

What is a stamp duty holiday?

In a bid to boost the struggling housing market which has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic, treasury officials have been looking at the temporary six-month increase in the stamp duty threshold.

Currently, the first £125,000 of a property's value in England and Northern Ireland is stamp duty free, or for first-time buyers it's £300,000 if the property costs under £500,000.

The move - which is expected to take force at the chancellor's Autumn Budget later this year - would increase this to an amount between £300,000 and £500,000.

With stamp duty suspended on the first £500,000 of a property's value, it could encourage more homeowners to move with huge potential savings.

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