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Half of first time buyers must pay stamp duty to get onto the property ladder - 12/05/2006

Data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders' (CML) regulated mortgage survey (RMS) shows that in March, 17,200 first-time buyers paid stamp duty, despite the threshold being raised to £125,000 in the budget. Around 80 per cent of those moving to a new home also had to pay stamp duty. The figures revealed a fall in remortgaging, which accounted for 36 per cent of lending in March, a ten per cent fall from March 2005. "The RMS shows the proportion of mortgages taken out by first-time buyers is low. With half of them having to pay stamp duty it is clear that tax continues to add to their affordability problems," commented director general of the CML, Michael Coogan. Fixed-rate loans dropped in popularity, accounting for only 69 per cent of loans in March, the lowest level since last August.

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