Labour’s plans to help First Time Buyers

A pressing trend in the run-up to the General Election 2015 is to beat the other party in catering for the younger generations and younger families.

This has included themes such as Unemployment, Wages and Property. It seems political parties have honed in on the issues surrounding young people now, in an attempt to win their votes.

It’s a common worry amongst young people (and even their parents) to still be living at home by the time you are 30, yet it is one that is a strong reality with talk of few steady jobs available.

The latest solutions on the table…

Labour has pledged to completely cut Stamp duty tax on properties priced up to £300,000 for all First Time Buyers. In reality, this could save them up to £5,000 which in the short term does sound like quite a high saving in initial costs – what about the long term?

A reported increase in house prices has recently meant that young people cannot afford to buy property. This is something claimed to be caused by a shortage of new homes and a demand for suitable first properties.

So Stamp Duty doesn’t seem to be at the heart of this problem – but as an initial cost, an extra £5000 can be a lot to save for.

Labour is also pledging to combat house shortage. The party has set out to build at least 200,000 news homes a year by 2020!

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that other parties are quick to jump in and criticise them! The Conservatives claim that Labour’s proposed change to stamp duty tax is unfunded.

It would be nice to think that Labour and indeed the conservatives (read about their pledges in regards to property here) have the long term in mind, but their plans seem to accommodate only the short-term solutions to purchasing a property.