The number of property sales that do not attract Stamp Duty will plummet in April, new research from Yopa shows, a change that will see a sales ‘cliff edge’ and transactions dwindle for several months.

At the moment a third of house purchases are not subject to Stamp Duty, but this will drop to less than one in ten.

The ‘nil rate’ band for home movers will fall from £250,000 back to £125,000 from 1st April, and for first-time buyers, the threshold will go down from £425,000 to £300,000.

Sharp fall

Yopa analysed current for sale listings across the property market in England, and figures from the hybrid agency show that 33% of all homes listed on the market have an asking price of £250,000 or below meaning that no stamp duty is owed by existing buyers.

However, when this threshold reverts back to £125,000, the proportion of market stock offering a ‘duty free’ purchase will fall to just 8%.

First-time buyers

For first-time buyers, 253,287 of the 393,240 homes currently listed boast an asking price of £425,000 or below.

So, 64% of all listings offer first-time buyers the chance of a property purchase without Stamp Duty at present.

However, only 173,547 of total homes listed have an asking price of up to £300,000, equating to 44% of total market stock.

This means that from 1st April, there will be almost 80,000 fewer properties for sale that would allow first-time buyers to climb the ladder without paying Stamp Duty.

Every region of England will see a significant reduction in stamp duty free property stock.”

Verona Frankish, CEO of Yopa, says: “As it stands, both first-time and existing homebuyers currently have a great degree of choice when it comes to the proportion of homes listed for sale, and the ability to purchase them without being hit by a hefty tax bill.

“Unfortunately, this won’t be the case from 1st April, with every region of England seeing a significant reduction in Stamp Duty-free property stock.”

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