Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride visited Winkworth’s Pimlico office in central London to argue for the abolition of stamp duty, as part of a wider Conservative campaign to remove the tax.
Hosted by Winkworth chief executive Dominic Agace, Stride said scrapping the levy would help increase housing market activity and support the wider economy.
In response to the Conservatives’ campaign to scrap stamp duty, Dominic Agace, chief executive of Winkworth, said: “At every stage of the housing ladder, stamp duty is trapping people in homes that are no longer suitable.
“First time buyers remain stuck in rental properties because their budget does not extend to saving for a deposit and paying stamp duty on the first home of their own.
“Higher up the ladder, downsizers are prevented from moving because buyers can’t afford the sizeable stamp duty tax to buy the larger homes and, in turn, downsizers face a hefty bill when they move to a smaller property. As a result, people are living in homes that are far too big for them and often unsuitable for their stage of life when health issues or heavy running costs may be impacting on their ability to manage a larger property.
“I have been talking to Winkworth offices about this and Ajay Bathija at Winkworth’s Kingsbury and Hendon offices tells me that every day he sees couples who bought their first flat five to ten years ago and are now starting families but simply cannot justify the additional cost of moving. A move from a £450,000 flat to a modest £650,000 family house can easily attract tens of thousands of pounds in stamp duty, and that is before legal fees, moving costs and higher mortgage rates. For many households, that additional tax effectively wipes out the savings they have worked hard to build through equity.
“Ajay says his offices are seeing more families staying put in homes that are too small for their needs. Ten years ago, first-time buyers would progress to their second property within five to seven years, whereas today that progression is noticeably slower and the number of second-step buyers has reduced significantly. This is a pattern that we are seeing across our 100-strong network of Winkworth offices.
“Removing stamp duty for those moving up the ladder would unlock movement across the whole housing chain. It would allow growing families to find suitable homes while also freeing up more smaller properties for first-time buyers.
“When we had a stamp duty holiday in 2021, we didn’t see significant price growth in London but we did see increased transactions.
“It is particularly unfair in the South-east where it does not just affect mansions but impacts two to three bedroom houses in London. These relatively small homes often cost in excess of £1m, with significant mortgage debt and the families within them being far from wealthy in terms of disposable cash to save for stamp duty on the next home.
“To move from a £1m three-bedroom house in London to a larger home in the South-east may now cost £43,000, which most young families can’t afford.
“At Winkworth, we don’t see stamp duty as a political issue. It is a tax on personal freedom and progression. And it needs to be abolished now.”
