THE professional body for estate agents, NAEA Propertymark, says scrapping stamp duty for first-time buyers will have "a positive impact" on the housing market.
"It’s a smart move to ensure the dream of home ownership for young people can become a reality," said chief executive Mark Hayward, "and will help buyers across the UK, including London and the South East where property prices are higher.
"We do however need to realise that this move will increase the demand for first-time buyers properties and if we don’t have the supply it will push prices up. We have seen this in areas where Help to Buy is offered, as it attracts a great deal of interest from first-time buyers.
"In terms of the Government’s plans to build 300,000 new homes a year, it is yet another pledge to increase the number of new homes created. While we welcome this news, we have historically had these announcements from Government to accelerate housebuilding which have not been delivered. It is not a question of how many, it’s a question of how?"
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