In a speech in Stockton, he will discuss a "modern housing crisis in which a severe shortage of new homes being built has priced millions of people out of the property market and left many who want to buy living in private rented accommodation."
According to Labour, scrapping stamp duty would benefit nine out of 10 people buying their first home and could save buyers up to £5,000
He will say:
“There’s nothing more British than the dream of home ownership, starting out in a place of your own. But for so many young people today that dream is fading with more people than ever renting when they want to buy, new properties being snapped up before local people get a look-in, young families wondering if this country will ever work for them.
“It is simply too expensive for so many young people to buy a home today, saving up for the deposit, paying the fees and having enough left over for the stamp duty. So we’re going to act so we can transform the opportunities for young working people in our country. For the first three years of the next Labour government, we will abolish stamp duty for all first time buyers of homes under £300,000.”
Miliband will also announce plans to start construction on 1 million new homes by 2020, and to build more affordable homes year-on-year by strengthening affordable housing obligations on developers.
Ed Balls, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, will add:
“Our fully-funded plan will slash stamp duty to zero for first time buyers on properties up to £300,000. This will save money that can instead be put towards a deposit and all the other costs that mount up when you buy a home. And we’ll get more affordable homes built too, with the biggest house-building programme in a generation."
Mark Hayward, managing director at National Association of Estate Agents, comments:
“This could be a real vote swinger for those looking to step on the housing ladder. Scrapping stamp duty for homes under the price of £300,000 would only mean good things for hopeful first time buyers. For many, hidden costs such as stamp duty can be the difference between being able to afford a home, and not being able to afford one. Our recent research showed that just under a third of house sales were made to first time buyers, and hopefully we’ll see this significantly increase over the next three years.”
