Chris Coates, Managing Director of Galliford Try Homes, urges the Chancellor to put home buyers at the top of the agenda for this year’s Budget:

“Alistair Darling should use his first Budget as Chancellor to communicate a genuine intention to help first time buyers."

“Given the number of people currently struggling with affordability and access to competitive mortgage deals, I strongly support calls for a reform of stamp duty. I recommend a twelve month ‘stamp duty holiday’ for all low-income first-time buyers and key workers over the next year, during which period these buying groups are entirely exempt from paying this tax."

“This would offer a practical solution, helping our most vulnerable buyer groups gain a valuable footing on the property ladder, beyond the meagre £125,000 threshold currently in place. Without first-time buyers, the housing market will grind to a halt.”

More fixed rate mortgages

Coates adds:

“The Budget also provides an ideal opportunity for the Chancellor to review the UK fixed rate mortgage market and examine why supply of long-term products in excess of ten years is so low compared with other countries. This would go some way to safeguard against the vulnerability, seen recently across many UK households, of any further sharp interest rate rises from the Bank of England over the next few years.”

Notes:
Galliford Try Homes, which forms a part of the Galliford Try Group, operates through five strong regional brands: Linden Homes, Linden London Developments, Stamford Homes, Midas Homes, and Gerald Wood Homes, specialising in brownfield land redevelopment. The business is capable of developing over 3,000 homes per year, covering the entire region from the West Country to Lincolnshire and the South East.
www.gallifordtryhomes.co.uk

For further information:
Ben Jenkins / Claire Hendry
The Wriglesworth Consultancy
Wellington House
125 Strand
WC2R 0AP

tel. 020 7845 7900
fax. 020 7845 7910