Budget 2018: Hammond extends stamp duty relief for first-time buyers

In his speech today (29 October), Hammond said all shared equity purchases of up to £500,000 would be exempt of stamp duty land tax. The chancellor added he would make the relief "retrospective", and would apply it to any first time buyer who has purchased a property since the last Budget. In his speech, Hammond said: "We can't resolve the productivity challenge or deliver the high standard of living the British people deserve without fixing our housing market. "In last year's Budget I launched a five-year £44bn housing programme to deliver the biggest increase in housing supply an...