Stamp Duty continues to increase

Its analysis of Treasury data has shown that the average amount of money paid in stamp duty on a home sold has increased from £2,870.65 in 2005/06 to £3,581.37 in 2006/07, a rise of 24.76 per cent.

As stamp duty rises, more people will look to pay for this by adding it to their mortgages. Indeed, the research reveals that of those people who have paid stamp duty over the past three years, 28 per cent increased their mortgages by on average £3,771 to help pay for it.

On a regional basis, London has the highest level of stamp duty per property sold at £7,942, compared to £1,585 in Scotland, which is the lowest. However, between 2005/06 and 2006/07, Northern Ireland saw the average stamp duty per property sold rise by a staggering 104 per cent, from £1,178.08 to £2309.72.

Francis Ghiloni, mform.co.uk marketing and business development director, said: “An extra £3,770 on a mortgage of £150,000 at a currently competitive 6.24 per cent interest for example, would increase monthly repayments from £988.58 to £1,013.42. Over 25 years, this would increase the cost by £7,452, which is a significant amount of money.

"As house prices rise, the cost of stamp duty will increase and we expect more people to pay for this by adding it to their mortgage.”