The UK government’s Autumn Budget introduced by chancellor Rachel Reeves last week could have major implications for many first-time buyers and homeowners looking to move from 1 April next year.
Propertymark has highlighted that based on the average UK house price of £293,000, those looking to move house could find their stamp duty bill more than double from £2,150 to £4,650.
The stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers has also been reduced from £425,0000 to £300,000, which will give thousands of first-time buyers an additional tax liability, which has the potential to affect affordably across some regions.
First-time buyers in London hoping to purchase an average priced house at £531,212 are set to be worst affected, having to find an additional £11,250 when the changes take effect.
Based on average house prices per region, those looking to move house will see a typical increase of around £2,500 across many areas.
First-Time Buyers:
| Country and region | Average House Price | Current Stamp Duty | Stamp Duty from 1 April 2025 | Difference |
| England | £309,572 | £0.00 | £478.00 | £478.00 |
| Northern Ireland | £185,025 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| East Midlands | £250,229 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| East of England | £344,190 | £0.00 | £2,209.00 | £2,209.00 |
| London | £531,212 | £5,310.00 | £16,560.00 | £11,250.00 |
| North East | £166,032 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| North West | £225,248 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| South East | £384,804 | £0.00 | £4,240.00 | £4,240.00 |
| South West | £320,774 | £0.00 | £1,038.00 | £1,038.00 |
| West Midlands | £255,102 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £219,433 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
Those looking to move house:
| Country and region | Average House Price | Current Stamp Duty | Stamp Duty from 1 April 2025 | Difference |
| England | £309,572 | £2,978 | £5,478 | £2,500.00 |
| Northern Ireland | £185,025 | £0.00 | £1,200.00 | £1,200.00 |
| East Midlands | £250,229 | £11.00 | £2,511.00 | £2,500.00 |
| East of England | £344,190 | £4,709.00 | £7,209.00 | £2,500.00 |
| London | £531,212 | £14,060.00 | £16,560.00 | £2,500.00 |
| North East | £166,032 | £0.00 | £820.00 | £820.00 |
| North West | £225,248 | £0.00 | £2,004 | £2,004.00 |
| South East | £384,804 | £6,740.00 | £9,240.00 | £2,500.00 |
| South West | £320,774 | £3,538.00 | £6,038.00 | £2,500.00 |
| West Midlands | £255,102 | £255 | £2,755.00 | £2,500.00 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £219,433 | £0.00 | £1,888.00 | £1,888.00 |
New Stamp Duty Thresholds from 1 April next year:
| Price of property | Stamp duty (from 1 April 2025) |
| Up to £125,000 | Zero |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% |
| £925,001 to £1.5 million | 10% |
| Anything above £1.5 million | 12% |
First-time buyers will be exempt up to an initial threshold of £300,000 (if the price of the property they are purchasing is below £500,000).
Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark, commented: “The Autumn Budget will likely uplift the housing market over the coming months, as people potentially look to complete before any increases on stamp duty come into effect next April. It is however important to consider continued house price growth, even in the short to medium term, as overall pricing gains should outweigh any proposed stamp duty increases for the very highest percentage of buyers.”
Separate research by eXp UK has revealed that stamp duty free stock levels fall by 20% or over 90,000 properties from April next year, as the current stamp duty threshold at which no tax is owed reverts back to £300,000 from the current threshold of £425,000.
eXp UK has analysed current for sale market stock, looking at the asking price of over 450,000 current listings across England, how many are priced at or below the existing stamp duty free threshold of £425,000, as well as the soon to be threshold of £300,000, to reveal the impact the change will have on first-time buyer choice for a stamp duty free purchase.
eXp UK’s analysis shows that there are currently an estimated 453,212 homes listed for sale in England.
Some 62% of these properties (281,863) are priced below the current first-time buyer SDLT threshold of £425,000 and are, therefore, available for purchase without paying any stamp duty tax at all.
However, under the incoming lower threshold of £300,000, only 42% of the properties are available without tax.
This marks a reduction of 20%, which means the number of stamp duty purchasing opportunities available to first-time buyers would fall by 91,570 if it were implemented today.
Again, this analysis is based on current stock levels but offers valuable insight into the sort of impact that first-time buyers can expect to see in the spring.
While the national tax-free stock reduction stands at -20%, first-time buyers in some of England’s major cities are going to see an even more radical drop in the number of homes available to them.
None more so than in Bristol where the reduced threshold could see the proportion of SDLT-free homes fall from 69% all the way down to 26%, a drop of 34%.
First-time buyers in Leicester can expect SDLT-free stock to fall by -26%, followed by Brighton (-23%), Greater Manchester (-21%), and Leeds (-20%).
There are, however, a number of cities in which stock levels will see a below average drop, including Liverpool (-13%), Bradford (-14%), and Sheffield (-15%).
The head of eXp UK, Adam Day, commented: “There was hope that last week’s Autumn Budget would extend the current stamp duty relief given to first-time buyers, at the very least.
“Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case and, as a result, the nation’s first-time buyers now need to prepare themselves for a significant reduction in the number of homes available to them that would come with the benefit of no stamp duty owed.
“Those currently on the hunt still have time to beat next year’s deadline but they need to get their skates on and complete within the next five months.”
Tom Ford saves £1.6m after completing purchase of £80m mansion ahead of stamp duty hike deadline
This was a Tory policy. You seem to have forgotten to mention that
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Labour have really helped LOL
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