Milton Keynes leads the way in commuter property boom following stamp duty giveaway

The property boom follows the government's recent £3.8bn stamp duty giveaway announcement, which means buyers of properties up to £500,000 will be exempt from paying any tax.

Buyers of properties with an MK postcode stand to save £5,265 in stamp duty based on typical prices.

Property website Rightmove says this has led to a surge in enquiries about properties, particularly in areas within easy reach for commuters to London.

And Milton Keynes, where the average asking price is £305,306, is top of the the list of desired areas.

The second most popular place is Watford, where enquiries from prospective buyers rose by 109 per cent.

Across all locations, there was a 49 per cent increase in enquiries about properties in the £400,000-£500,000 price band, where stamp duty is temporarily exempt.

Enquiries about properties in the £500,001 to £750,000 band were up by 40 per cent as buyers stand to save £15,000 on stamp duty.

But interest in properties priced at £300,000 or below was only one per cent higher - because first-time buyers of homes in this price range were already exempt from stamp duty.

Rightmove commercial director and housing market analyst Miles Shipside said: “The uplift in enquiries is likely a mixture of people looking in new areas to see what they can now afford, changing their search criteria to bigger, slightly more expensive homes, and new movers coming into the market because they now have enough extra budget to move home.

“The savings of £15,000 on property above £500,000 may also help some people to trade up more easily.

”Our analysis shows that this is going to help the mid-market the most, but all parts of a property chain are vital to keep the market moving.

“Although low deposit mortgage options are slowly coming back to the market, first-time buyers who were already exempt from stamp duty up to £300,000 may find that they will be competing with some buy-to-let investors also looking to make the most of the stamp duty savings in this sector of the market.”