Just one in ten first-time buyers pay Stamp Duty in the North, compared to eight in ten in London, new research from Zoopla shows.

Six in ten first-time buyers nationally pay nothing – but in the South East and East of England, half now face a bill as median prices cross the £300,000 relief threshold.

For existing home owners moving to a new property, Stamp Duty is near-unavoidable: more than four in five pay in every English region bar the North East, the research shows.

In London, home owners moving home pay more than three pence in every pound of the purchase price as Stamp Duty; in Yorkshire or the North West, less than one penny.

Stamp Duty Costs and Payment Rates by Region

Region	FTBs paying	FTB median bill	FTB rate per £	Home movers paying	HO median bill	HO rate per £
North East	2.1%	£3,750	1.0p/£1	63.5%	£1,500	0.8p/£1
Yorkshire	3.8%	£2,500	0.7p/£1	82.8%	£2,200	0.9p/£1
North West	6.2%	£2,500	0.7p/£1	84.0%	£2,200	0.9p/£1
W Midlands	9.3%	£2,500	0.7p/£1	90.4%	£3,250	1.2p/£1
East Midlands	12.2%	£2,500	0.7p/£1	91.5%	£3,000	1.2p/£1
South West	21.2%	£2,500	0.7p/£1	92.5%	£5,000	1.7p/£1
South East	51.0%	£5,000	1.3p/£1	96.6%	£11,250	2.7p/£1
Eastern	52.0%	£4,500	1.2p/£1	96.4%	£10,000	2.5p/£1
London	79.7%	£8,750	1.8p/£1	99.1%	£20,000	3.3p/£1

“In the North and Midlands, the £300,000 takes nine in ten first-time buyers out of paying anything extra to buy their home.

“In London and the South East, the cost of buying an average first time buyer homes is above £300,000 for many buyers which means the majority of first-time buyers face a stamp duty bill on top of an often sizable deposit.”

He added: “For home movers, stamp duty is a near-certain cost wherever you live – and in Southern England it runs to five figures.

“Six in ten property purchases are made by existing homeowners. When the cost of moving becomes a meaningful friction, some of those moves don’t happen, especially with lower levels of house price inflation in recent years across southern England. ”