First-time buyers (FTBs) have defied the odds and continued buying property at record levels despite the recent Stamp Duty hike, a leading estate agency has claimed.

New figures from Hamptons show that the proportion of FTBs paying Stamp Duty is set to nearly treble from 9% to 26% this month.

But undaunted, they have continued to hunt for their first home in the first quarter of this year, according to Hamptons.

All-time high

FTBs purchased a record 33% of all homes sold across Great Britain, up from 30% in Q1 2024, which was already an all-time high.

These buyers were unlikely to complete before the April deadline, with only 16% of FTBs who agreed a sale in the first quarter, making the cut-off for higher Stamp Duty rates.

The numbers of this group of buyer increased by 9%, while there was only an increase of 1% in total sales agreed during the first three months of this year, compared to the same period last year.

This week, the latest RICS survey showed demand from all homebuyers dropped dramatically last month to the weakest position for 18 months.

Doubled

Hamptons says that since 2009, following the global financial crash, the proportion of homes sold to new homeowners has doubled. Surprisingly, the biggest uplift in first-time buyers has come in the £300k+ price bracket. And London has seen the second-largest increase in the share of homes bought by first-time buyers, just behind Wales.

Distortions

Aneisha Beveridge (main image), Head of Research at Hamptons (main picture), says: “Stamp duty holidays are renowned for causing distortions in the housing market.

“However, this one seems to have had a fairly muted impact so far. While the number of sales agreed dipped slightly in March during the run-up to the end of the holiday, pricing has held up well.

They’ve defied the odds and have continued house hunting.”

“Most buyers have taken the increase in SDLT in their stride, thanks partly to lower borrowing costs, which have helped offset some of the pain,” she says.

“But despite first-time buyers seeing some of the biggest increases in their tax bills after April, they’ve defied the odds and have continued house hunting.”

First time buyers hit record numbers ahead of Stamp Duty hike