In the last three months of 2016 HM Revenue & Customs earned £519m extra from the 3 per cent surcharge payable on stamp duty for second homes.
This was from the purchase of 62,800 second homes in the fourth quarter up from 56,200 in the third quarter and 30,400 in the second quarter of 2016 with the total revenue take amounting to £1.19bn.
Higher stamp duty rates have applied to purchases of additional residential property since 1 April 2016.
In his 2015 Autumn Statement, then chancellor George Osborne announced a 3 per cent premium on stamp duty for buy-to-let investors and those buying second homes, aimed at raising £1bn by 2021.
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said the level of mortgage lending for December was encouraging, particularly given the significant headwinds created by the increase in stamp duty for landlords and second homeowners in April and the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the European Union referendum, which saw the UK opt for Brexit.
Mr Harris said: “Record low mortgage rates are responsible for the resilience we have seen, with many borrowers remortgaging to take advantage of the lowest rates ever.
Record low mortgage rates are responsible for the resilience we have seen.Mark Harris“Meanwhile, first-time buyers have been able to take advantage of an increase in the number of high loan-to-value deals and despite fears that the end of the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme would give them a massive setback, this doesn’t seem to be the case.
“Moving into this year, swap rates have settled down since the beginning of January and several lenders have announced competitive deals on the back of these.
“HSBC, Barclays and Aldermore have all launched cheaper rates in the past few days and an appetite to do business among lenders shows no signs of abating.
“This is particularly good news for those borrowers who require a straightforward ‘vanilla' mortgage but we would like to see more tweaking of criteria and innovation to make it easier for other groups such as older borrowers and the self-employed to access mortgage finance rather than just cheaper rates.”
emma.hughes@ft.com
