Coventry Building Society has identified a handful of statistics which it argues highlight the need for Stamp Duty reform.

The mutual has analysed the latest HMRC figures to provide these statistics.

It found that only 25.5% of property transactions fell below the £250k Stamp Duty threshold in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, a huge drop from Q1 2014 when 62.5% of transactions were below £250k.

Meanwhile, 47.2% of property purchases in Q1 2024 were between £250k and £500k, meaning almost half of buyers paid Stamp Duty at 5% of the house price. This has almost doubled since Q1 2014 when only 28% of buyers were paying the 5% rate.

In addition, the average Stamp Duty bill has risen by almost £3,000 over the last 10 years, going from £6,065 in Q1 2014 to £9,038 in Q1 2024.

The fourth statistic is that so far this year 21.3% of first time buyers have still been liable for Stamp Duty

Finally, the number of additional property transactions (such as buy-to-let properties) dropped to 43,800 in Q1 2024 – this is 19.1% lower than the average number of additional property transactions each quarter since Q2 2022, and could be impacting the availability of rental properties.

Jonathan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, said: “The right changes to Stamp Duty could make a huge difference to homebuyers and the wider economy; it could not only put money back in the pocket of purchasers, it could also oil the wheels of the market and make it easier for people to move up and down the ladder throughout their lifetime.

“The go-to solution has been temporarily changing the thresholds, but there’s a risk that they become out of sync with house prices in a few years, and they don’t address other issues like support for downsizers or the significant upfront cost for those investing in rental properties. A considered, longer-term review, and implementing the findings, would have a greater and longer-lasting benefit to buyers and sellers.”