"The clock is ticking and those who wish to maximise the benefits of the current stamp duty exemptions need to do so before March 2025. "
- Lomond CEO, Ed Phillips
66% of homes currently listed for sale fall below the first-time buyer stamp duty threshold of £425,000, with more affordable areas of the market reaching up to 90% of SDLT-exempt stock, new research from Lomond shows.
As it stands, first-time buyers don’t pay stamp duty on any purchase of up to £425,000. Across England as a whole, 66% of all homes currently on the market are listed with an asking price below the £425,000 threshold.
But which major cities offer first-time buyers the best chance of a foot on the ladder without forking out for stamp duty?
Bradford is home to the highest level of stamp duty exempt stock for first-time buyers, where 94% of all homes currently listed have an asking price below the £425,000 threshold.
Newcastle (91.7%), Liverpool (91.2%), Birmingham (88.6%) and Manchester (87.9%) also rank high in this respect, as do Leicester (87.7%), Sheffield (86.2%) and Nottingham (85.4%).
In contrast, just 32.1% of current for sale stock found across London offers first-time buyers the opportunity of a stamp duty free purchase, whilst in Brighton this figure sits at just 53.6%.
However, first-time buyers are best advised to act quickly, as 47% of this stamp duty exempt stock has already gone under offer or sold subject to contract across England.
First-time buyer demand for a stamp duty exempt purchase is at its highest in Bristol, where 62.3% of all homes listed for sale under £425,000 have already been snapped up.
Sheffield (59.4%) and Newcastle (57.4%) are also home to particularly high demand from first-time buyers.
Unless Labour makes an alteration when delivering the Autumn Budget on October 30th, the first-time buyer stamp duty threshold will revert back to £300,000 at the end of March 2025.
In its party manifesto prior to this year’s general election, the Conservative party had pledged to keep the minimum first-time buyer stamp duty threshold at £425,000. In contrast, Labour didn’t mention it in its manifesto before its election victory.
Lomond CEO, Ed Phillips, commented: “The lower stamp duty threshold has been a welcome reprieve for first-time buyers already shelling out vast sums to get on the ladder and, as our research shows, there’s plenty of stock available in the current market that would allow them to avoid a stamp duty when getting that first foot on the ladder.
“However, the clock is ticking and those who wish to maximise the benefits of the current stamp duty exemptions need to do so before March 2025. Whilst this may sound like a long way away, the deadline will come around soon enough, particularly when you consider the prolonged timeline required when purchasing a property.
“That is unless the Labour Party decides to make the first-time buyer stamp duty relief permanent in the Autumn Budget at the end of October.
“Will the party make that change? It would be popular, but Labour made no commitment in its manifesto and – with talk of a £22 billion black hole in the public’s finances – giving a tax break seems to go against the party narrative.”
