Propertymark and Rightmove urge Labour to keep FTB Stamp Duty threshold
First-time buyers are already struggling to get on the housing ladder and reducing the threshold to £300,000 will add an average of £3,675 more to their costs.
Propertymark and Rightmove have called for Chancellor Rachel Reeves (main image) to retain the £425,000 Stamp Duty threshold for first time buyers amid fresh concerns over its impact on those trying to buy their first homes.
The Conservatives temporarily raised the level at which first-time buyers paid Stamp Duty to £425,000 back in 2022 but Reeves is now planning on bringing it back down to £300,000.
At its present level, Rightmove’s data shows nearly two 60% of homes for sale in England are free from Stamp Duty for first-time buyers.
Reducing the threshold to £300,000 would mean that only 37% of them would be tax-free – a reduction of 21%. London’s high prices would therefore make it the worst affected with fewer than one in ten homes Stamp Duty-free during 2025.
More costs
Currently, if a first-time buyer purchases the average home, they will pay no stamp duty but in 2025 they will pay £3,675.

Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark says: “At a time where house prices remain unrealistic and challenging for many people, it is an important part of the process that the new UK Government looks to help people enter the housing market and retains the threshold.”
Rightmove agrees; Tim Bannister, its property expert says: “Stamp Duty is a barrier to movement, and keeping the existing thresholds seems like a logical step to providing some first-time buyer support.
Downsizing
“Even greater Stamp Duty reforms in the future could have wider implications, such as helping those who are considering downsizing.”
At the same time Rightmove acknowledges Labour’s other FTB initiatives, such as its new housebuilding targets, planning reforms and mortgage guarantee scheme, but urges it to go further.
They propose a government review of mortgage affordability criteria and support for lender product innovations to help identify and create more options for first-time buyers, helping them to both borrow and save enough for a large enough deposit.