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AHIPP CALLS FOR SUSPENSION OF STAMP DUTY AND MAJOR PROGRAMME OF BUYING IN PROPERTIES
Today, the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) called for the suspension of stamp duty on all transactions up to the value of £500,000 until the end of May 2009. The Association proposes that the existing stamp duty suspension is replaced with this measure to provide a quicker and more meaningful stimulus to the property market.
The Association also called for a major buying in programme by the social housing sector of completed homes and flats that are sitting empty in towns and cities up and down the country.
Mike Ockenden, Director General of AHIPP said: the existing stamp duty holiday is too little and will take too long to stimulate any meaningful activity. What is required in these times is strong and brave action to help the property market which after all underpins the whole UK economy.
Ockenden added ‘the other measure which will have a major impact is for the social housing sector to buy in the many thousands of completed properties for which there is a massive demand from those on council wasting lists. Rather than throw money at Banks to underpin their gambling activities, spending up to £5billion on buying in up to 40,000 residential properties will provide a long term investment and ultimately deliver a return on the use of tax-payers money. It will also provide liquidity to the hard pressed home construction sector so that builders can start once again to construct new homes and provide gainful employment to the tens of thousands of construction workers that have lost their jobs.’