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, dtamp 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
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, comments: “Where you’re buying determines what you pay in stamp duty if you’re a first-time buyer.
“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.”
THE FISCAL DRAG
Zoopla said the growing cost of stamp duty for home buyers has been compounded by stamp duty price bands not keeping pace with house prices – akin to ’fiscal drag’ that boosts the cost of stamp duty tax over time.
The current £250,000 threshold where the 5% stamp duty rate starts for home movers was introduced over 11 years ago in 2014.
If this was adjusted in line with house prices it would be around £380,000 today, saving the average home buyer up to £6,500 in stamp duty for purchases between £250,000 and £380,000.
THE GRIDLOCK EFFECT
Zoopla highlights how home movers are an important part of the housing market accounting for six in every ten property purchases.
It said when moving costs climb to five figures in Southern England, some of those moves do not happen – reducing demand for larger homes and also reducing the supply of starter homes available to first-time buyers.
