Morning Briefing: Help to Buy back in the spotlight

In the news

An analysis by Stockdale Securities is the subject of a piece in the FT about the 5% premium added to the prices of Help to Buy homes by builders.

The scheme has come under sustained criticism recently, with even builders’ chief executives admitting that it is “inflationary”.

Meanwhile, The Telegraph is again whipping itself up into a fury on stamp duty this morning in the earliest signs of the Autumn Budget approaching.

It’s found an anonymous Cabinet minister to back its campaign for the chancellor to cut the tax, which mostly affects buyers of £1m-plus homes.

Eagle-eyed followers of housing news will remember that we went through all this already in autumn 2016, only for Philip Hammond to ignore The Telegraph’s pleas.

On social media

No, house prices are killing house sales. Silly @Telegraph t.co/6bM9J7tx0S

— Rob Gershon (@Simplicitly)

No, house prices are killing house sales. Silly @Telegraph https://t.co/6bM9J7tx0S

— Rob Gershon (@Simplicitly) August 8, 2017

Abolishing stamp duty & council tax & introducing progressive property tax would be good policy. Doubt @Telegraph would like it though t.co/ch2yjt1iFf

— Jonathan Portes (@jdportes)

Abolishing stamp duty & council tax & introducing progressive property tax would be good policy. Doubt @Telegraph would like it though https://t.co/ch2yjt1iFf

— Jonathan Portes (@jdportes) August 8, 2017