NEW figures from the Land Registry have revealed the punishing effect of stamp duty on first-time buyers, leading to a renewed call from South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt, for them to be treated as a special case. Mr Hunt is backing the Conservative campaign for the stamp duty threshold to be raised to £250,000 for first-time buyers. The current national threshold is just £125,000, with stamp duty payable at one per cent up to £250,000 and three per cent from £250,001 to £500,000. In Waverley, the average flat costs in the region of £200,000 and as house prices edge up, more and more people are caught in the stamp duty trap. The detailed figures from the Land Registry show record prices for flats across the country – and the vast number of flats which are now liable for stamp duty. Under the Conservative proposals, first-time buyers buying a flat would only pay stamp duty in 16 of the 375 local authorities across the England and Wales.  New figures have also revealed that 34,000 first- time buyers a year are taking out mortgages of 100 per cent or more of the purchase price, making them vulnerable to negative equity. A stamp duty cut would help first-time buyers to raise a larger deposit and in turn make it easier to raise a mortgage and even reduce the interest payments on a mortgage. Mr Hunt commented: "The average flat in Waverley now costs £196,747. This underlines the need to raise the stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers in particular.  "A range of tax rises, from stamp duty to inheritance tax to council tax, are all making home ownership harder and harder for more and more people. "We must recognise the importance of affordable homes in providing the bedrock of stable, safe and green communities." But building more homes alone would not solve the affordable housing problem in Waverley, the MP pointed out.  "Raising the stamp duty threshold to £250,000 for first-time buyers would make a huge difference for the many young people struggling to get their foot on the housing ladder in our area."