Rightmove: 74,000 house buyers to narrowly miss stamp duty deadline

Rightmove’s stamp duty report has identified an estimated 74,000 moves, which includes 25,000 first-time buyers, that will just miss the March 31 deadline and complete in April.

They form the unlucky section of a “massive log-jam” of 575,000 movers hoping to complete ahead of the tax change, Rightmove said.

Collectively, the buyers are set to pay £142m in extra property tax.

On March 31, the nil rate threshold for stamp duty, which is currently £250,000, will return to the pre-2022 level of £125,000.

The nil rate threshold for first time buyers, which is currently £425,000, will return to its previous level of £300,000. The maximum purchase price for which First-Time Buyers Relief can be claimed will also return to £500,000, from £625,000.

Buyers have been rushing to purchase homes since the Autumn budget, with Santander reporting a 130 per cent increase in mortgage applications in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to 2023.

While cost-conscious buyers “will be doing all they can to get their move over the line and avoid unnecessary extra tax”, the huge number of homes going through the completion process mean not all will be successful, Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said.

Prices tick up again in March

Rightmove also announced that house prices rose by another 1.1 per cent per cent in March, taking the average listed price of a home in the UK at £371,870.

The property platform said the market remained “resilient” despite global uncertainty, with strong indicators heading into spring.

Monthly average asking price of UK houses

Credit: Rightmove

“Historic averages show that this March is likely to be one of the strongest months of the year for sellers to spring into action,” Babcock said.

But analysts warned affordability pressures are likely to continue, with mortgages still high amid a sticky Bank of England interest rate.

“Many prospective buyers continue to struggle with deposit requirements and the once dependable Bank of Mum and Dad is under pressure, too,” John Tilzey, Sales Director, finova, said.

One thing which could keep a lid on prices is the high number of sellers coming to market.

The number of sales agreed rose nine per cent year on year in March, which is a “positive sign” for the market post-stamp duty increase, Rightmove said.

Tomer Aboody, director of specialist lender MT Finance, said: “Buyers are almost spoilt for choice, with more sellers coming to market than has been the case for a decade.

“Lenders [also] continue to reduce mortgage rates in order to entice buyers, which will help maintain confidence, and a further rate cut from the Bank of England would certainly assist on that front.”