Call off duty!

HERE was great excitement when Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch promised to scrap stamp duty at the Tory Conference - which industry experts have been suggesting for years. It’s long been argued that this land tax discourages people from relocating for new jobs, and puts off empty-nesters from downsizing - although some claim reducing it will simply push up prices, as buyers won’t have to factor it into their budgets.

- By Deborah Stone

EMOTIONAL: Mary Ferguson, inset, has settled in nicely at her new two-bedroom apartment

But research from estate agent Jackson-Stops shows that stamp duty relief for older downsizers could unlock up to 2.5million homes over five years and in September the website moneyage.co.uk reported Yorkshire Building Society’s claim that half UK adults would consider downsizing if there was a support scheme in place.

There are other reasons why older people are reluctant to downsize, though, such as the emotional wrench of leaving a home with decades of memories as well as the lack of suitably sized properties.

Pensioner Mary Ferguson, 78, faced both these problems when she decided the time had come to sell her eight-acre family home in Surrey.