Stamp duty holiday deals: the London new-build homes with free furniture packages, holiday vouchers and cashback on offer
The stamp duty holiday can save buyers up to £15,000 on the cost of a new home - and developers are throwing in freebies worth thousands of pounds to seal the deal.
Before the Government announced there would be no stamp duty payable on homes priced £500,000 or less until the end of next March, some housebuilders were offering buyers a contribution towards the tax. But they’ve rapidly had to rethink their incentive offers.
“If a developer was offering to help with stamp duty, then it is only right that they find a way to give buyers the same benefits in a different way,” said Mark Pollack, a director at Aston Chase estate agents.
“Morally, it is the right thing to do. I know of one buyer who had already just bought a Berkeley Homes apartment in Colindale when the stamp duty holiday was announced. Berkeley was going to pay the stamp duty and they got in contact right away to say they would still be giving them the money, which seems like very good practice.”
So, what incentives are being offered to new homes buyers right now?
Free stamp duty thrown in for homes priced above £500,000
Hangar Lane, west London
The stamp duty amnesty only covers homes priced below £500,000. Galliard Homes has offered to pay the difference on homes which cost more than the temporary threshold at two of its London developments.
Prices at Westgate House, close to Hangar Lane station, start from £375,000 for a one-bedroom flat, and £580,000 for a two-bedroom apartment.
When the building is completed next year residents will be able to enjoy an on-site gym, sauna and steam room, plus a communal terrace and a screening room. Visit galliardhomes.com.
£10,000 furniture packages
Bow, East London
Furniture packages are a popular developer giveaway. At Lime Quarter in Bow buyers can claim furniture packs worth up to £10,000 – in the form of a credit note with either Vesta Interior Design or InStyle Direct – if they buy a two-bedroom flat, priced from £540,000. Visit lindenhomes.co.uk.
Furniture packages worth up to £15,000
Nine Elms, south-west London
Free furniture is also on offer at Lexington Gardens at The Residence, Nine Elms, where prices start from £638,000 for a one-bedroom flat and £801,000 for a two-bedroom property.
Bellway is offering a furniture package worth up to £15,000 on selected homes, and is also throwing in new flooring.
Cash incentives: get £4,360 back
Colindale, north London
If you would prefer hard cash, then buyers of a share of a home at Colindale Gardens in north London from housing association Peabody can claim five per cent cashback.
The homes are part of a £1billion regeneration of the Zone 4 outpost, and prices start from £87,250 for a 25 per share of a one-bedroom apartment with a full market value of £349,000.
Five per cent cashback would represent a saving of just over £4,360.
Shared ownership: rent exemption for six months
Ealing, west London
Shared ownership means paying rent on the portion of the property you don’t own. But at SO Resi Ealing, close to Ealing Broadway, buyers can get a six-month break.
Buyers of one- and two-bedroom flats during August will be let off rent for six months.
Prices start from £105,000 for a 25 per share of a one-bedroom flat, and the monthly rent is £656. Two-bedroom flats start at £136,250 for a quarter share, and the monthly rent is £647.
Claim back legal costs with £8,000 furniture thrown in, too
Isleworth, south-west London
Stamp duty is far from the only expense when you are buying a property. Homes in NOMA, Isleworth, in deepest south-west London, come with riverside gardens and great views, and are priced from £335,000 for a one-bedroom flat.
Buyers can claim up to £2,000 to cover their legal fees plus what are described as “furniture packs” worth £8,000. These actually take the form of a discount on the price, meaning you can either lower your mortgage payments or spend the money where – and on what - you like. Visit Hamptons.co.uk.
A box office £30,000 stamp duty saving
Denham, Buckinghamshire
Buyers who want a family home with a garden could look just beyond Greater London to Denham Film Studios, a reboot of the Art Deco-era studio in Buckinghamshire where movies including ET, The Empire Strikes Back, and Skyfall were produced. Houses are priced from £645,00. Visit weston-homes.com.
And Weston Homes is matching the stamp duty saving, representing a total saving on a family house of £30,000.
£5,000 holiday vouchers, valid for two years
Bermondsey, south-east London
House buying can be a stressful business. At London Square Bermondsey, around the corner from London Bridge, buyers who reserve a selected flat by the end of September will be given a £5,000 holiday voucher to spend with specialist firm Travel Counsellors.
The money can be used to take either a UK break or an overseas trip, and is valid for two years. Prices start from £670,000 for a one-bedroom flat and £915,000 for a two-bedroom flat. Visit londonsquare.co.uk.