Budget 'failed first-time buyers'

The budget has been a "missed opportunity" that has failed first-timer buyers, it has been claimed.

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) has stated that it would have expected the Chancellor to address the current market conditions and raise stamp duty thresholds.

However, Alistair Darling's decision to abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers who own less the 80 per cent of their shared ownership home has been deemed a "positive first step" by the group.

A spokesperson for AMI said: "The government hasn't increased stamp duty thresholds in line with property prices, and the duty is increasingly becoming a stealth tax. Stamp duty is such a burden that it could cause the government to fail in its ambition to achieve 75 per cent home ownership."

Richard Farr, director of AMI, added that the government should promote a "flexible" mortgage market instead of "exclusively focusing" on fixed rate mortgages.

AMI is a not-for-profit organisation funded by its members and industry supporters.

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