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Almost All London's Houses Hit By Stamp Duty- Evening Standard March 06

House price rises since Christmas mean that virtually every London buyer is now having to pay stamp duty.

More than 98 per cent of homes now on sale in the cappital have an asking price higher than £120,000 stamp duty threshold. This means the Chancellor's gesture in last year's budget when he doubled the threshold from £60,000 came too late to help London's hard squeezed buyers. There was an unseasonal surge in activity in the London property market early this year, with the average asking price soaring past £300,000 making up for falls in the second half of 2005.

The surge is hitting first time buyers hard according to Rightmove, the property website that compiled today's figures.

"First time buyers may have to look outside London to be able to afford their first home" said Rightmove director Miles Shipside. "Stamp duty is an increasing burden as only 1.8 per cent of properties coming to the market in London are priced below the £120,000 threshold