article: Millions of pounds were wiped off the value of leading housebuilders today after Labour announced a raft of new policies on housing. Ed Miliband today set out plans to scrap stamp duty for most first-time buyers, curbing rent rises and giving local people priority for new homes. But he also wants to ban developers hoarding land which could be built on, triggering a drop in the value of shares of construction firms. Ed Miliband used a speech in Stockton-on-tees today to promise there is 'nothing more British than the dream of home-ownership' as he sets out plans to prioritise new homes for local people . The move to clampdown on landbanking - where firms hold on to undeveloped sites while its value increases - has proven unpopular. Yesterday Mr Miliband said he would introduce rent controls if it won the election and ban private landlords from raising rents by more than the rate of inflation for the duration of new three-year contracts. It is thought the policies contributed to the fall in shares in leading housebuilding firms. Barrett Developments saw shares drop from more than £5.42 each to under £5.32 within two hours of the FTSE opening, and closed at £5.37, a 0.74 per cent decline on the day. Shares in Taylor Wimpey fell sharply from £1.70 to under £1.66 this morning, before recovering to £1.68, a fall of 0.47 per cent. Persimmon, the third housebuilder in the FTSE 100, also saw shares fall sharply this morning, but they made up the losses before the end of the day. 'Nervousness over the election is finally starting to filter into the FTSE 100. Rent controls will affect the housing sector,' said Atif Latif, director of trading at Guardian Stockbrokers. Mr Miliband, pictured checking his phone as he travels to Stockton by train, wants to ban developers hoarding land which could be built on . In a speech today, Mr Miliband said there is 'nothing more British than the dream of home-ownership' as he sets out plans to prioritise new homes for local people. He warned that too often new homes are 'snapped up before local people get a look-in' and promised to cut the cost of getting on to the property ladder. Nine in 10 people buying their first home will benefit from the stamp duty break, saving them up to £5,000, according to Labour. In a speech in Stockton, Mr Miliband said: 'There's nothing more British than the dream of home-ownership, starting out in a place of your own. 'But for so many young people today that dream is fading with more people than ever renting when they want to buy, new properties being snapped up before local people get a look-in, young families wondering if this country will ever work for them. 'That is the condition of Britain today, a modern housing crisis which only a Labour government will tackle.' Higher taxes will also be imposed on foreign buyers and up to half of new homes will be set aside for local residents. The plan would cost £225 million a year, which it says would be found through a series of tax-related measures. The battle for the support of Britain's aspiring homeowners has been electrified by a series of eye-catching policies from the main parties. David Cameron ordered a relaunch of Maragret Thatcher's Right to Buy policy, extending it to 1.3million families in housing association properties, while offering Help to Buy ISAs to people struggling to save for a deposit. The Lib Dems have promised tenants the chance to buy a stake in their homes through a Rent to Buy scheme. Under Labour's proposal, the planning laws would be changed to introduce a 'first call' policy that would give first time buyers who have lived in an area for more than three years priority on up to half of local new homes. It will also introduce a 'local first' policy that would stop properties being advertised overseas before they have been in the UK. Mr Miliband was greeted at the Arc Arts Centre in Stockton-on-Tees by Louise Baldock, the Labour candidate for the Stockton South seat . House prices are rising faster for first-time buyers than people already on the property ladder, according to Nationwide . Mr Miliband said: 'It is simply too expensive for so many young people to buy a home today, saving up for the deposit, paying the fees and having enough left over for the stamp duty. So we're going to act so we can transform the opportunities for young working people in our country. 'For the first three years of the next Labour government, we will abolish stamp duty for all first time buyers of homes under £300,000.' Chancellor George Osborne allowed a two-year holiday on stamp duty, which raised the threshold for first-time buyers to £250,000, to expire in March 2012, introducing a New Buy Guarantee in its place. Mr Miliband warns that too often new homes are 'snapped up before local people get a look-in' and promised to cut the cost of getting on to the property ladder . Buyers currently pay nothing on the first £125,000 of a home's value and are then charged on a sliding scale, starting with 2 per cent on the next £125,000 and 5 per cent on the following £675,000. Labour says it would fund the stamp duty plans by tackling tax avoidance by landlords, pointing to HMRC figures that estimate it costs £550 million a year. It claims introducing a national register of landlords would mean that figure could be cut by 20 per cent, bringing in £100 million for Treasury coffers. Holding companies that buy properties for investors would be hit by increases to the annual tax on enveloped dwellings while buyers from outside the European Union would be hit by a hike in their stamp duty bills of at least 3 per cent. Tax relief for landlords to cover the upkeep of furnished properties would also be reduced for rogue landlords that rent out sub-standard properties. A Conservative spokesman said: 'This panicky, unfunded announcement is something Labour have tried before - and it failed. Coming from the people who crashed the housing market and repeatedly raised stamp duty, this won't distract from Ed Miliband's inability to say what deals he will make with the SNP to prop him up in Downing Street. 'In contrast to Ed Miliband's gimmicks, because of our balanced economic plan, we've been able to deliver lasting reforms - cutting stamp duty for 98 per cent of people who would have paid it. 'Higher borrowing and higher debt under an SNP-controlled Ed Miliband government would mean higher mortgage rates and fewer first-time buyers.' A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: 'This is yet another unfunded promise from Labour. Just last week, the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies told them they weren't being honest about their spending plans. It is clear they have learnt absolutely nothing. No-one should trust Labour to deliver this commitment because their sums simply do not add up. The Liberal Democrats have been honest about our spending plans; it's time Labour and the Tories did the same. 'Only the Liberal Democrats will really help people get on the housing ladder, by building the 300,000 homes needed to keep up with demand, helping young people afford the deposit for their rent, and helping people buy their homes over time through our Rent to Own plans.'
highlights: Miliband says there's 'nothing more British than dream of home-ownership'
  Stamp duty cut would save first-time buyers up to £5,000 on cost of buying .
  Labour would also ensure new homes go to local people with law change .
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