Stamp duty is a burden.

A UK mortgage broker has warned that the residential property market will continue to slow unless the stamp duty threshold is raised.

Mortgage broker My Mortgage Direct (MMD) believes that the 3% stamp duty tax applied to mortgages in the £250,000 - £500,000 bracket, is holding the market down.

MMD Joint Director Cath Hearnden said: "Evidence suggests that the recent increase of the lowest stamp duty threshold to £120,000 has made negligible difference to hard pressed first time buyers.

"But it is the next threshold, which is causing the market to stagnate. Paying 3% of any purchase price over £250,000 means buyers have to find at least £7,500 to hand over to the Government in order to move up the property ladder. And they are understandably digging in their heels."

Newport's chance to capitalise.

A shortage of office space in Cardiff may now lead to an influx of new developments in Newport according to Stuart Hogg, the former head of Chesterton in Cardiff.

With the residential property market tightening up, Hogg believes there is now a niche in the market for commercial property to be entering a dynamic new phase.

He said, "There's a real shortage of quality space [in Cardiff city centre]. It's a great opportunity for Newport to be promoting itself."

Has property market hit a turning point?

The average price of a new-build house has risen during the last month according to SmartNewHomes.com, suggesting that the housing market may be about to reach the turning point of its current slowdown.

The average price of a new UK home was £256,648 last month, up 0.2% on April's price. However the price also represents a 7% fall since prices peaked last year.

David Bexon, chief executive of SmartNewHomes.com, said: "These figures show that the housing market is on the cusp of a recovery, but the situation is still fragile. Any number of factors could turn the market down again. The general election seemed to have stalled the usual spring recovery and the reluctance of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee to reduce interest rates has not helped restore buyer confidence in the market place."

"There is a great deal of uncertainty as to where prices are heading for the remainder of this year with both buyers and sellers wary about making any hasty decisions."

Property Market continues to slow according to RICS.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says that 49% more of its members reported prices fell in May than those who thought they rose - the highest proportion since November 1992.

Spokesman Jermey Leaf said: "The froth has come off the market. Choosy buyers can now afford to bide their time."

The group also said that sales were around 29% lower than the same period of 2004.

Meanwhile, the number of homes being put up for sale continued to rise at a firm pace, leading to surveyors having around 25% more unsold properties on their books than they did a year ago.
Scotland was reportedly the only region across Britain where prices were continuing to rise.

The biggest price falls were seen in the Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside, while the pace of falls also increased in London

Buy-to-let still the main retirement fund.

Almost three out of four investors still plan to make their future fortune from the residential buy-to-let sector, while over 12% remain dependent on their own home as an investment, according to recent research conducted by the Property Investor and Homebuyer Show North (24-26 June, GMEX Manchester).

Nick Clark, managing director of the show said, "The results may surprise many who have recently heard negative stories regarding residential buy to let. However it highlights how serious investors still strongly believe in the future returns of property both commercial and residential, compared with other forms of investments."

Property Investor News who will be exhibiting at the show, will be located at stand number 7