The number of people buying their first home dropped significantly in the first three quarters of last year, according to Coventry Building Society’s analysis of HMRC stamp duty figures.

The number of first time buyers in England and Northern Ireland from January to September 2022 was 18,100 lower than the first three quarters of 2019.

HMRC’s Quarterly Stamp Duty Land Tax Report shows that only 18% of all residential transactions were for first time buyers in the first three quarters of last year, down from 22% in the first three quarters of 2019.

While there were fewer first time buyers, a significant number still had to pay some Stamp Duty as property prices outstripped the threshold for First Time Buyer Relief. In total, 39,500 purchases were liable for the property tax from January to September 2022 compared to 35,800 purchases in the same period in 2019.

Full year figures for 2020 and 2021 are not available because the Stamp Duty Holiday for homes bought for up to £500,000 meant First Time Buyer Relief didn’t need to be claimed.

Jonthan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, said: “It’s concerning that not even one in five homes sold last year went to a first time buyer. People getting that first foot onto the ladder is what keeps the whole market moving, nobody wants to see the numbers deteriorating.

“The fact that thousands of first time buyers still had to pay some Stamp Duty on their home last year shows the temporary change to thresholds in September was needed. It took eight years for these changes to be made. These new thresholds should be linked to house price inflation to futureproof the support given to this vital part of the market.”