High-value areas are already experiencing a rush to beat the Stamp Duty deadline in April, research suggests.
The latest real-time market analysis from Rightmove reveals early signs of first-time buyers racing to beat the drop in Stamp Duty thresholds from 1 April 2025.
First-time buyer Stamp Duty relief is set to drop at the end of March 2025 from £425,000 to £300,000.
In London, only 8% of homes for sale will be Stamp-Duty free for first-time buyers from April, Rightmove said, rising to 24% in the South East and 32% in the East of England.
These areas have seen an uptick in first-time buyer demand since the Budget, suggesting some first-time buyers are rushing to avoid paying higher charges. Before the Autumn Budget, first-time buyer demand in London was 28% ahead of last year – now, it is 31% ahead, the portal said.
In the East of England, the trend has moved from 28%, to growth of 32% ahead of the same period last year since the Budget, and in the South East, first-time buyer demand has ticked up from 23% ahead of last year pre-Budget, to 24% ahead post-Budget.
The upward trend compares with most other areas of England that have seen a decline in demand since the Budget, except for the North East.
It currently takes an average of five months (151 days) to complete a property transaction across Great Britain. This means that first-time buyers hoping to find their next home and complete before the stamp duty deadline on 1 April, need to act quickly and hope to beat the average length of time to complete a home purchase, the portal warns.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert, said “with Stamp Duty thresholds in England lowering from April, we’re seeing early signs of first-time buyers reacting. In London and higher-priced areas, where first-time buyers are most likely to be affected, we’re seeing some pull forward their plans to try and avoid higher charges. In most other areas of England, which have a greater availability of stamp duty-free homes for first-time buyers, we’re seeing the opposite trend of some first-time buyers taking a pause for breath with no further help announced in the Autumn Budget.
However, the long-awaited second Bank Rate cut should hopefully boost optimism amongst movers and help to improve affordability during 2025.”
Commenting on the research, Toby Leek, NAEA Propertymark president,stated “many first-time buyers who have been waiting in the wings and analysing market conditions will certainly now be looking to take their initial step onto the housing ladder and save themselves thousands of pounds by completing before April 2025. Not only this but as finances start to ease in terms of interest rates and other associated home costs, more buyers are finding a middle ground in their affordability and are able to secure their ideal homes moving forward making an all-round more attractive market.”
Landlords buying smaller properties to offset tax
A new analysis claims landlords are now buying lower value properties, driven by desires to minimise tax threats.
The analysis by Inventory Base suggests that in Q2 2024 – the latest available data – the average landlord’s portfolio size stood at 7.6 properties, marking a +5.6% increase on Q1 2024’s average size of 7.2 properties.
But the average value of individual properties within these portfolios has fallen over the same period of time.
In Q1, the average property value was £250,000, but by Q2 this had fallen by -10.5% to stand at £223,684.
So while portfolios have actually been increasing in size, their overall value has gone down. In Q1, the average landlord’s portfolio was valued at £1.8m, but by Q2 this had fallen by -5.6% to stand at £1.7m.
Despite this decline in overall value, increased portfolio sizes are matching with rising rent values to mean landlords are still managing to increase their rental income.
As a result of this increase, landlords’ decision to grow and diversify their portfolios has resulted in them achieving greater yields.
In Q1 2024, the average rental yield stood at 6.1%, while in Q2 it was +0.2% higher at an average of 6.3%.