Of the 331,899 first-time buyer loans taken out between the start of the stamp duty holiday on 24 March 2010 and the end of 2011, 89% were for properties priced under £250,000, HSBC analysis shows.
During this period, 286,299 first-time buyers bought a stamp duty free property, with 159,872 benefitting from the stamp duty holiday by buying their first home priced between £125-250,000.
This is half (50%) of all of those first-time buyers who bought a home over the past two years who would otherwise have been liable to pay the additional tax.
There is just over a month left until the end of the Government’s stamp duty holiday on 24 March.
Average first-time buyer property prices are under the normal stamp duty threshold of £125,000 in eight of the 12 UK regions, meaning that the majority of first-time buyers across the UK are still able to buy a home without having to pay the additional tax. First-time buyer house prices are lowest in theNorth East (£100,112) and highest in London (£268,454).
Peter Dockar, head of mortgages at HSBC, said: “We have seen a 20% increase in approvals for first-time buyer loans in the first six weeks of the year as they rush to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday.