To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) proportion and (b) number of first time buyers in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) England and Wales purchased properties in the three or four per cent. stamp duty band in the most recent year for which figures are available. (176619)

Data on first time buyers (FTBs) using a mortgage in the UK are available from the Regulated Mortgage Survey which is supplied to Communities and Local Government by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The survey is a sample so data on the total number of FTBs are unavailable.

However the Council of Mortgage Lenders publishes figures on the total number of FTBs in the UK, but not for England and Wales. In order to estimate numbers of FTBs in the UK in each stamp duty bracket proportions calculated from the Regulated Mortgage Survey have been applied to the published figure of FTBs in the UK.

The number and proportion of first time buyers in the UK that purchased properties in the 3 and 4 per cent. stamp duty bands during 2006 is shown in the following table.

As information on the total number of FTBs in England and Wales is not available, only the proportions in each stamp duty band can be derived from the Regulated Mortgage Survey.

The proportion of first time buyers in England and Wales that purchased properties in the 3 and 4 per cent. stamp duty bands is shown in the following table.