Last year, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in a bid to help the housing and home owner loan market and in particular, to help first time buyers get onto the property ladder, raised the threshold limit on stamp duty from £125,000 up to £175,000.

This could potentially save a person buying a new house for £175,000, up to £1,750 in stamp duty costs. With the end of this extension due to end in just over a months time, at the end of this year, there has been a last minute rush of individuals trying to complete their home owner loans and house purchase before the deadline expires.

The latest figures from moneysupermarket.com have shown that the number of house purchases below £175,000 has increased by almost ten per cent over the course of the past three months, as people take advantage of the extension. This increase in activity in loan applications is likely to be mirrored in January with a significant drop in activity, as the threshold returns to just £125,000 and many industry experts have called for the extension to be made permanent.

Hannah Mercedes-Skenfield of moneysupermarket.com said “Thousands of house buyers are trying to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday before it is due to end. It is encouraging to see an increase in home owners looking for this band of property, but the reality is that most properties are well above the £175,000 price tag. Most buyers looking at this end of the housing market are likely to be first time purchasers; when the stamp duty benchmark is pushed back to £125,000 and factoring in the huge deposit required by banks, stepping on to the housing ladder is going to be an impossible leap for many. The average house price in all regions is over £125,000, so this benchmark is exceedingly low.”