Sir - Is it the intention of this Government and its advisers to continue to favour the interests of the building industry over the needs of the many disheartened and frustrated first-time house buyers?
If it is not, would they care to explain the substantial disincentives which face any first-time buyer who would like to purchase one of the many fine second-hand houses available? I refer specifically to the fact that to buy such a house a first-time buyer must forgo the £3,000 first-time buyer's grant and in addition must then also pay stamp duty on the full purchase price. Why is this?
It seems absurd that first-time buyers are not actively encouraged to purchase the many suitable and attractive houses which come on the market. Instead, they are herded towards competing against each other for so-called starter homes, often far from where they would actually like to live.
Demand is cited as the reason for these new out-of-town developments, yet there is a large source of supply which first-time buyers are being actively discouraged from tapping.
Could the Government in its wisdom and benevolence not extend the first-time buyers' grant and exemption from stamp duty to second-hand homes? - Yours, etc. Peter Walker,
Glentor, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.