How the 2010 budget will help first time house buyers

Alistair Darling's budget plans announced on Wednesday may be a step in the right direction as far as first-time house buyers are concerned. Darling announced that he will double the stamp duty threshold from £125,000 to £250,000. This is good news for nine out of ten first time buyers.

Having said that, to compensate for this higher threshold, Robin Hood (sorry... I mean the Chancellor) will be zapping home-owners of properties worth more than £1million by a further 5%.

Despite my sarcasm, this move is welcomed by the property sector as a whole and it should, in the short term at least, have a positive impact on the industry. The average home in the UK is worth £170,000 so £250,000 seems like a bit of a random number. Perhaps it's not just first time buyers that will be attracted by the new stamp duty threshold.

Moving to a new area

If you're think of buying a house in an areas that's new to you, there are loads of things you should consider that you might not have even thought about. This blog covers how to find some of this information. For the purpose of this blog, we'll assume that you're looking at moving to Hungerford.

Have a look at local council websites to find out about things like schools, jobs, parks, council tax, future planning developments, etc. to help you decide whether the area you are moving into has all the necessary facilities for you and your children to live comfortably. You can visit the Hungerford local council website at: http://www.hungerford.uk.net/

You'll also need to take a look at local house prices. By using the Land Registry Property Prices website, you can find local property price information. It told us that the average house price in West Berkshire in January 2010 was £218,132, which is an increase from the same time last year when the average house price was just £216,345.

Another thing you might want to look at is the local neighbourhood statistics. There are the local authority statistics for West Berkshire where you can find out statistics about crime in the area, housing demand and supply and education.

UK house sellers getting 94% of asking price

Last month, home-buyers in the UK paid an average of 93.8% of the asking price, according to Moneyfacts.co.uk. This compares to 88% in February last year.

It would seem that this is even more evidence to suggest that now is a good time to sell your house. Supply of property is very low compared to demand, which means that houses are worth more and buyers are willing to pay more for property.

The average price of a home has increased over the last 12 months by around 0.4% and increased in 25% of postcodes last month, according to the research.

If you're interested in selling your house in Berkshire, please visit us at http://www.nyeandco.co.uk/tos.htm or give us a call on 01488 683334.