Redbrick Solutions have responded promptly to the Chancellors announcement regarding Stamp Duty Land Tax.  Changes were made to Redbrick Practice Management within a couple of hours of the announcement yesterday, to ensure minimum disruption to clients.

Philip Hammond announced yesterday that he was permanently abolishing Stamp Duty for first-time buyers purchasing properties up to £300,000 and in high-priced areas on the first £300,000 of houses worth up to £500,000

The change kicked in at one minute past midnight yesterday, says the Treasury briefing paper.

It says: “To ensure that all first-time buyers purchasing a house on Budget day benefit and to avoid disruption, the relief will take effect from Budget day (00:01 hours November 22nd).”

The paper says that in every region of England outside London, and in Wales and Northern Ireland, the first-time buyer will pay no Stamp Duty. Altogether, 80% of first-time buyers will be exempt from Stamp Duty.

In London, the average Stamp Duty bill for a first-time buyer will nearly halve, from £10,500 to £5,500.

The Chancellor estimates the move will cost £3.2bn over the next five and a half years.

Initial reaction from the industry has been mixed, with a number predicting that abolishing Stamp Duty for first-time buyers will simply push up prices at the lower end of the housing ladder.

Martin MacDuff, Redbrick Solutions managing director commented “It is essential to us to react quickly for the benefit of our clients, in causing minimum disruption to the time and efficiency savings they enjoy through their use of Redbrick Practice Management.  One of them being the seamless submission of SDLT.  I am very proud of our team for deploying a technical response to the announcement so quickly.”

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