People buying property for the first time currently make up almost two thirds of movers, according to figures from conveyancing comparison website Reallymoving.
The research shows that first-time buyers made up 64% of people moving home in December 2024, and 63% in January 2025.
Much of this activity is attributed to changes to stamp duty thresholds from 1 April 2025. In her October budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the levels at which the tax becomes payable would revert to normal, after they were raised in 2022.
For first-time buyers this means the threshold will fall from £425,000 to £300,000 after 31 March. The average cost of a property for first-time buyers in the capital is currently £438,442.
Increased activity could also be the result of the fall in mortgage rates in 2024, with lowest two-year fixed rates currently at 4.2%, or 4.07% for buyers who fix for five years.
Buying and selling at the same time?
Here are 10 things that could go wrong, and often do go wrong, and what, if anything, you can do to avoid them.
Buying and selling at the same time?
Here are 10 things that could go wrong, and often do go wrong, and what, if anything, you can do to avoid them.
Rob Houghton, founder and chief executive of reallymoving, said: “First-time buyer activity increased sharply from October through to the end of last year, and has stayed high into January.
“The prospect of higher stamp duty bills is undoubtedly a factor, with savings of over £6,000 up for grabs if first-time buyers in London can complete before the deadline.”
According to property portal Zoopla, the market has also started 2025 with its strongest performance in three years. The property portal recorded sales agreed as up by 12 per cent in the four weeks to 24 January, compared to the same period a year ago.
Read more about this story in the Property Wire and Evening Standard websites.
According to the Lloyds house price index, UK house prices grew in June for the first time since the start of the
Halifax has just announced that the average UK house price fell by 0.1% to £298.806 in May. This was largely unexpected, with many
Halifax has followed HSBC and First Direct in cutting fixed mortgage rates. Halifax reduced fixed mortgage rates by up to 0.25 percentage
