Housing: Sales

Robert Neill
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer to Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay of 13 October 2009, Official Report, House of Lords, column 24WA, on stamp duty, what estimate has been made of the (a) number of house transactions and (b) average level of house prices for (i) first-time buyers and (ii) all buyers in each year from 2010-11 to 2013-14.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry
The Government do not publish a forecast of property transactions or a forecast of the average level of house-prices.

For the purposes of the public finance projections the Treasury uses an assumption for the level of the house prices in each year of the forecast horizon. This assumption is based on an average of independent external forecasts and audited by the National Audit Office. Details of the assumed level of house prices can be found in paragraphs B.76 and B.77 of the Budget Report (HC 407).