A number of mortgage lenders have commented on chancellor Gordon Brown's Budget yesterday, saying that not enough has been done to help first-time buyers.
The managing director of Principality Building Society, Tracy Morshead, has said the Budget has "missed opportunities".
She said the Budget offers "little or no support" to first-time buyers and those saving money.
The fact that the stamp duty threshold will be increased to £125,000 is a "step in the right direction", according to Stephen Leonard, mortgage director at Alliance &Leicester, but he believes the four per cent increase is "not enough".
Citing official figures from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Leonard points out that the new threshold remains nine per cent under the average house price for first-time buyers.
He says the mortgage lender will continue to press for first-time buyers to be made exempt from stamp duty tax.
However, one mortgage lender says stamp duty is not the only indicator of first-time buyers' behaviour.
GMAC-RFC's report entitled First Time Buyers: Understanding New Trends shows that the attitudes of first-time buyers are more deciding than financial matters when they decide to take the first step onto the property ladder .
Jeff Knight, director of marketing at the mortgage lender, says GMAC-RFC welcomes measures that make it more affordable to become a first-time buyer.
"However, GMAC-RFC's research shows that even a substantial rise in the level at which stamp duty has to be paid is extremely unlikely to bring first time buyer lending back up to the 50 per cent levels of previous years because of the fundamental shift in attitudes."
He says the fact that stamp duty has been reviewed for a second consecutive year, is "truly positive".
"This may be an indication that stamp duty will be reviewed each year as recommended by us and many consumer groups," Mr Knight concludes.
Mortgage lenders respond to Budget
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Mortgage lenders respond to Budget
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