First-time buyers have two months left to benefit from reduced stamp duty rates when taking into consideration that it takes 25 weeks for properties to go from listing to completion.
The nil-rate stamp duty threshold will fall from £425,000 to £300,000 from April 2025, unless the government makes an alteration in the Autumn Budget on October 30.
First-time buyers purchasing homes priced between £500,000 and £625,000 will also lose their eligibility for first-time buyer relief.
These changes mean a third of first-time buyers in England will pay more stamp duty from April next year than they do today.
Izabella Lubowiecka, senior property researcher at Zoopla, said: “Thousands of first-time buyers have benefitted from the relief in stamp duty introduced in 2022.
“With just two months to go, those looking to purchase their first home should act this Autumn if they are to avoid paying more in stamp duty, particularly if they are looking to purchase a home in Southern England, an area where first-time buyers are likely to see a sizable increase in SDLT once the changes come into effect next April.
“Those not looking to purchase until after 1st April, should make sure they build the additional stamp duty fees into their plans and account for it in their overall budgets.”
Stamp duty rates were temporarily reduced in the infamous 2022 mini budget, which caused the value of the pound to plumet and prompted then-Prime Minister Liz Truss to be ousted.
From the 1st of April 2025, the average first-time buyer in London will face a stamp duty bill of £5,600, £1,390 in the South East and £1,040 in the East of England compared to £0 today.
In some areas of London, first-time buyers could pay an additional £15,000 in stamp duty once the planned changes come in and there is no change announced in the Autumn Budget.
Due to the higher house prices those in Southern England are disproportionately affected.
At the other end of the spectrum just 5% of first-time buyers in Northern England and the Midlands affected.
