Asking price discounts rise as Stamp Duty rush begins

First-time buyers are rushing to purchase homes before Stamp Duty thresholds change in April and there are signs of high discounts to get deals done, research suggests.

Hamptons has compiled data from some 550 estate agency branches across the Connells Group and said there has already been a particular uptick in purchases above £425,000, where new buyers face the biggest tax bill hikes.

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, the research shows.

It comes as the first-time buyer Stamp Duty threshold is set to drop 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’s been a particular increase in the share of first-time buyers purchasing more expensive homes, Hamptons said. Estate Agent Today