Rightmove asks government to review stamp duty thresholds

Rightmove asks government to review stamp duty thresholds

• Rightmove asks the government to review stamp duty to help mobility across many parts of the property market:
  • For first-time buyers, in 2017 over half of properties in England (53%) were free from stamp duty taxes. This has dropped to 40% in 2025 due to rising house prices
  • For home-movers, 15% of properties in England in 2017 were free from stamp duty taxes. That has dropped to only 5% in 2025
  • Rightmove therefore proposes that higher zero rate stamp duty thresholds should be considered for both first-time buyers and home-movers
• Rightmove predicts 1.15 million transactions to take place across Great Britain in 2025, while average new seller asking prices are likely to rise by 2%
• The first six months of the year saw positive market trends, with the number of sales being agreed 6% higher, and the number of new properties coming onto the market 8% higher than the same period last year

The UK's largest property platform Rightmove is asking the government to consider stamp duty reform, to increase mobility across the market from first-time buyers to down-sizers.

Rightmove proposes that one way stamp duty could be reformed is through increasing the zero rate stamp duty thresholds permanently across England.

The current zero rate thresholds of £125,000 for home-movers, and £300,000 for first-time buyers were first introduced in 2006 and 2017 respectively. There have been some temporary increases to these thresholds over the years, which have now reverted to these levels.

New Rightmove analysis comparing the number of stamp duty free properties back in 2017 with 2025 highlights the need for a review, to take into account price growth over the period. Asking prices in England have risen by 22% between 2017 and 2025.

It shows that:

• For first-time buyers, in 2017 over half of properties in England (53%) were free from stamp duty taxes. This has dropped to 40% in 2025 due to rising house prices
• For home-movers, 15% of properties in England in 2017 were free from stamp duty taxes. That has dropped to only 5% in 2025

Reforming stamp duty could help to make moving more affordable, especially for first-time buyers, and could lead to more moves happening in the market.

Rightmove believes that mobility is a contributing factor to economic growth, which is a stated ambition of the government. It's important to lower friction for regular life events where a move is key, such as a new job, young people entering the workforce, a change in family situation or living close to relatives.

The recently launched government inquiry into the barriers facing first-time buyers is a promising step in analysing the range of challenges to getting onto the ladder.

The permanent mortgage guarantee scheme announced by the government, as well as the work the FCA and lenders are doing to try and help people to borrow what they need responsibly, are all small steps towards improved affordability and choice for buyers.

Looking back at the first six months of 2025, the number of property sales being agreed was up by 6% compared to the first half of last year. The number of new properties that have come onto the market for sale is 8% higher than the same period last year, contributing to a decade-high level of properties available for sale.

Last year, 1.1 million property transactions completed. Rightmove predicts that 1.15 million transactions will take place in 2025, and average asking prices will rise by 2% by the end of 2025.

Johan Svanstrom, Rightmove's CEO says: "It's been a positive first six months of the year for the property market, and Rightmove continues to support our partners by delivering high quality services and connecting them with the UK's largest and most engaged audience of serious movers. Stamp duty can be a big barrier to movement, and so we want to see ways that affordability can be improved and more first-time buyers can be supported onto the housing ladder. We'd encourage the government to review the current stamp duty thresholds, and see if there is a way to update these to better reflect current house prices, to help increase mobility across the market."

Estate agent & developer comments

David Powell, CEO at Andrews Property Group says: "The start of the year saw strong consumer demand, helped by the stamp duty deadline and expectations of interest rate cuts. After the deadline passed and the anticipated rate cuts materialised in May, the market seemed to enter a phase of adjustment, with higher levels of properties on the market and increased levels of price reductions. I think the second half of 2025 will continue its steady pace.

"The Government could take action around stamp duty for a quick win, but it would be wise to think long term. Short term fixes often lead to cycles of uncertainty, which hurts consumer confidence. I would advocate for a more sustainable, structural solution. Something the government could consider is allowing buyers to have a longer timeframe to pay for stamp duty, rather than within the first two weeks of buying a home. The next few months will be crucial for the market, particularly for identifying whether the interest rate trajectory holds steady or if we see cuts in response to economic conditions. It will be interesting to see if there are any policy shifts, particularly ahead of the Autumn Budget."

Mike Sharman, Group Managing Director of Sharman Quinney said: "The first three months of the year were very much driven by the changes to the Stamp Duty thresholds, with people bringing forward their completions to beat the deadline. That said, buyer applicant numbers remained strong after this, but there was much more supply in the market for them to choose from. This meant longer decision times when it came to making an offer.

"Stock levels are rising but demand remains strong. However, with so much supply, we find ourselves in a very price sensitive market. Naturally, interest rates remain a key driver to add further confidence to the market. Though mortgage rates continue to fall, the headliner grabber that is the Bank of England rate will be key to pushing the market on. Economic uncertainty is holding some back, but with applicant levels up, we could see a healthy second half of the year."

Tim Collins, Group Corporate Affairs Director at Barratt Redrow says: "Housebuilding volumes continue to lag behind government targets and assessments of housing need, meaning there is a long-term supply-demand imbalance. But potential buyers are still struggling with affordability and consumer confidence is low by historic standards. Expectations of future interest rate cuts, along with activity being brought forward due to the SDLT changes and of course summer holidays, mean that demand at the moment is relatively subdued.

"Over the last six months we saw good levels of activity in parts of the country where affordability is less constrained, whereas in the South East, and London in particular, things are more challenging.

"We anticipate that clarity on interest rates will support good levels of demand in our core markets during the Autumn.

"We welcome steps taken by the Chancellor to allow more mortgages at higher loan-to-income ratios and to make the mortgage guarantee scheme permanent, which we expect to improve access to finance for some potential buyers. However, the main issue most people face is putting together a deposit, so would like to work with government to provide more support for buyers in this area.

"Looking further ahead, we have ambitious growth targets to grow our annual completions to around 22,000, supported by the Government's ambitious reforms to simplify the planning system, requiring local areas to plan to meet their housing need and removing blockers where the principle of development is agreed."

Stamp duty stats

Changes in proportion of stamp duty free homes

*Asking prices of smaller properties in London have dropped by 1% between 2017 and 2025.

Current average stamp duty payments

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• The current zero rate stamp duty threshold for home-movers of £125,000 was first introduced in March 2006
• The current zero rate stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers of £300,000 was first introduced in November 2017
• Both home-mover and first-time buyer zero rate stamp duty bandings have temporarily changed over the years, for example the stamp duty holiday during the pandemic in 2020 increased the zero rate threshold to £500,000 for all moves
• More information on historic stamp duty bandings and changes is available on the government website

About Rightmove

• Rightmove has the UK's largest selection of properties for sale and to rent, adds more listings than anyone else, and over 80% of all time spent on property portals is on Rightmove.
• Rightmove's vision is to give everyone the belief that they can make their move by giving people the best place to turn and return to for access to tools and expertise to make it happen.
• People can search Rightmove for residential resale, new homes, rentals, commercial property and overseas properties and use tools and information including getting a Mortgage in Principle, checking local sold prices, property valuations, market trends, maps and schools.
• Customers include the following key groups: estate agents, lettings agents, new homes developers, rental operators, commercial property operators and overseas property agents and financial services operators
• Using the UK's largest housing datasets, we issue a number of regular reports to track housing market indicators: our monthly House Price Index (established 2002), quarterly Rental Trends Tracker (established 2015), daily Mortgage Rates Tracker (established 2023) and quarterly Commercial Insights Tracker (established 2024). Historical data is available on request
• Founded in 2000, Rightmove listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006 and is a member of the FTSE 100 index.
• For more information, please visit https://www.rightmove.co.uk/claims