Can I beat the March stamp duty deadline and buy a new home?
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Thresholds change for first-time buyers and home-movers alike - starting from £125,000. Homebuyers are facing a race to complete property purchases before stamp duty thresholds drop at the end of March. Currently, first-time buyers don’t have to pay any stamp duty on the first £450,000 of a property purchase, while those moving up the ladder only owe the controversial tax on purchases above £250,000.
But from April 2025, the first-time buyer threshold will drop to £300,000 and to £125,000 for home movers. The changes could add thousands to the cost of buying a home. For example, a first-time buyer purchasing a £425,000 property will pay no stamp duty today, according to Zoopla research, but their property tax bill will rise from April to £6,205.
So it’s no surprise that the latest Rightmove house price index shows the number of buyers contacting estate agents about properties for sale since Boxing Day is already nine per cent ahead of last year and the number of sales being agreed over the same period is up by 11 per cent as people are keen to get deals done and save money.
However, with mortgage applications typically taking two to six weeks and the conveyancing process ranging from 12 to 16 weeks, there are warnings that many buyers could be left disappointed with higher stamp duty bills in April. Robert Sinclair, chief executive at the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, says: “Managing mortgage borrowers’ expectations is of primary importance at such times as these.
