First-time buyers are rushing to purchase homes before stamp duty thresholds change in April 2025.
The share of homes bought by first-time buyers across Great Britain increased to 31.8% in November and December 2024, the highest figure on record. Throughout the whole of 2024, first-time buyers purchased 31.2% of homes sold across the country, which in itself was also an all-time high.
This increase comes in response to the announcement in the Autumn Budget that the threshold at which first-time buyers start paying stamp duty will fall from £425,000 to £300,000 from April 2025. The change is expected to more than triple the proportion of first-time buyers liable for stamp duty from 8% to 26%.
There has been a particular increase in the share of first-time buyers purchasing more expensive homes who stand to save the most before stamp duty rises in April. Someone purchasing their first home for £625,000 will see the biggest increase in their tax bill from April, rising by £11,250.
First-time buyers purchased a record 20.8% of £425,000+ homes sold in November and December, compared to 17.5% for the whole year and up from 14.5% in 2023. In the last two months of 2024, 10% of first-time buyers paid more than £425,000 for their home, up from 8% for the whole of 2024.
In contrast, the share of homes sold for less than £300,000 to a first-time buyer fell to 34.1% in the last months of the year from 34.8% for the whole of 2025. These new buyers won’t see their stamp duty bill rise next year, therefore there’s less of a rush.
Share of homes bought by a first-time buyer by region:
| Region | 2024 | Nov & Dec 2024 | Change |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 28% | 32% | 4% |
| South West | 28% | 31% | 4% |
| West Midlands | 37% | 40% | 3% |
| London | 49% | 50% | 1% |
| East of England | 36% | 36% | 0% |
| North West | 30% | 30% | 0% |
| South East | 31% | 31% | -1% |
| Scotland | 31% | 30% | -1% |
| East Midlands | 28% | 27% | -1% |
| North East | 18% | 17% | -2% |
| Wales | 23% | 19% | -3% |
| Great Britain | 31% | 32% | 1% |
Source: Hamptons
The more affordable parts of the country, where first-time buyers are least likely to see their stamp duty bill rise, generally saw a fall in the share of new homeowners. In Wales, the share of homes bought by first-time buyers fell from 23% in 2024 as a whole to 19% in the final two months of the year. The same was true in the North East, the most affordable region in the country, where the proportion fell from 18% to 17%. Here, just 3% of first-time buyers will pay stamp duty from April, slightly up from 1% today.
Meanwhile, Yorkshire & the Humber saw the biggest rise in the share of homes bought by a first-time buyer, closely followed by the South West, West Midlands and London. First-time buyers purchased half (50%) of all homes sold in the capital during the last two months of 2024, the highest share in the country. Some 69% of these buyers purchased a home costing more than £300,000 and so will save if they are able to complete before the end of March.
Share of sales agreed that complete within a monthly timeframe:
Source: Hamptons
The window for guaranteeing completion before stamp duty changes is rapidly closing. Historically, only 29% of sales agreed complete within three months, with that figure falling to 13% within two months, and only 6% complete within a month (chart 2).
Cash buyers purchasing a house who aren’t in a complicated chain are most likely to meet the deadline. Just 4% of mortgaged purchases complete within a month, compared to 13% of sales funded with cash. Furthermore, due to the extra paperwork needed for leasehold properties, just 4% of flats complete within a month, compared to 6% of all homes.
However, first-time buyers are more likely to complete in time than movers, predominantly because they tend to be at the end of a chain.
Sellers, many of whom are likely making onward purchases, were willing to accept larger discounts in Q4 2024. The median discount more than doubled from £2,000 in Q3 to £5,000 in Q4 2024, surpassing the maximum £2,500 increase in a mover’s stamp duty bill from April.
Even so, the average seller in England & Wales achieved 98.1% of their final asking price in the final quarter of last year, a figure that remains higher than comparable pre-Covid periods.
The average first-time buyer secured a median £2,000 discount in Q4 2024, having been unable to secure a discount in Q3. Those purchasing their first home which cost more than £300,000 managed to negotiate larger savings, with a median discount of £5,000.
Offer accepted price as a proportion of the final asking price
Source: Hamptons
