Agents in the East of England could face the toughest task filling the void left by first-time buyer (FTB) Stamp Duty relief, should the Labour Government decide not to keep the current threshold of £425,000 in place come the end of March next year, GetAgent.co.uk has revealed.
With first-time buyers forming a core segment of the market for the nation’s estate agents, a return to the £300,000 threshold could prove problematic.
GetAgent’s research found that this could dramatically reduce the number of homes available that offer the additional draw of a Stamp Duty free purchase.
Across England, 66.5% of all homes listed for sale came in below the Stamp Duty free threshold of £425,000.
However, just 45.6% were listed at £300,000 or less, meaning that should Stamp Duty relief revert back to this threshold, it would reduce available stock by 20.9%.
Agents in the East of England could face the toughest challenge should first-time buyer Stamp Duty relief return to purchases up to £300,000.
66.8% of all homes listed for sale were priced at £425,000 or less, while just 41.1% of for sale stock sat at £300,000 or below, meaning that it would reduce Stamp Duty free stock availability for first-time buyers by 25.7%.
Agents in the South West (-24.9%), South East (-24%), West Midlands (-21.4%) and London (-19.1%) ranked as the regions that would see the largest reductions in Stamp Duty free for sale stock.
Colby Short, co-founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, said: “FTBs form a core part of market activity and stamp duty free incentives are a big draw when looking to reduce the cost of purchasing.
“Therefore, if the threshold returns to £300,000 it could see agents hit with a significant reduction in demand due to the stock they are able to offer and the number of FTBs it attracts.
“They can also be preferable to sellers and agents alike as they offer a chain-free purchase which can help transaction speed, certainty and of course, cash flow.
“The very best agents will likely be going through their databases now trying to get affected vendors onto the market and completed before any incentives are removed.”
