Osborne Unveils His 'Bold Plan' To Tackle Housing Crisis

Buy-to-let landlords and second-home buyers face a big jump in stamp duty under plans designed to ease the path to home ownership for first-time buyers. Experts said the new measures would deter landlords from buying up properties, but could also “turbo-charge” house prices in the short term as, investors race to complete sales before the higher tax – on all properties more than £400,000 – comes into force next April. George Osborne announced a clampdown on purchases of buy-to-let and holiday properties as part of a spending review package to tackle “a growing crisis of home ownership in our country”. Announcing the measures, the chancellor said he was setting out a “bold plan to back families who aspire to buy their own home” Read more on the Guardian website.