Rightmove stats and comment ahead of Autumn Statement

Love or Hate Rightmove

Stamp Duty

 

  • The average stamp duty that a home-mover (not a first-time buyer) pays is currently £5,607 (based on the average asking price of £362,143)
  • 29% of homes on the market are currently exempt from stamp duty for all home-movers (excluding second homes, anything £250,000 or below)
  • 62% of homes on the market are currently exempt from stamp duty for first-time buyers (anything £425,000 or below)
  • The percentage of properties that are on the market by the current different stamp duty bands are all follows:
    • £250,000 and below – 29.3% of properties
    • £250,001 to £925,000 – 62.4% of properties
    • £925,000 – £1.5 million – 5.1% of properties
    • Anything above £1.5 million – 3.2% of properties
  • If the stamp duty cut was on all properties up to £500,000, it would mean 72% of properties in England would be exempt from stamp duty

 

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert says: “Stamp Duty was changed as recently as a year ago, albeit only temporarily until March 2025, so further changes so soon would seem unlikely. Further cuts or a permanent change to the thresholds would be welcomed by many, particularly by affordability-stretched first-time buyers. However, further stamp duty cuts are unlikely to lead to a rush of activity, as buyers would need to weigh up any benefit in savings against higher mortgage rates and their monthly mortgage payments.”

 

Mortgage guarantee scheme

 

  • Analysis using the latest earnings data from ONS shows single first-time buyers on the average salary could not afford to use the government’s 95% mortgage guarantee scheme on three quarters of properties in the typical first-time buyer market
  • In London, a single first-time buyer on an average London salary could afford only 2% of properties using this 5% deposit scheme, compared to 67% of properties for those in the North East:
    • Westminster, Islington & Camden top the list of areas where a single first-time buyer could afford the smallest proportion of typical first-time buyer homes for sale on the average salary
  • Options to use the scheme greatly open up for those buying with a partner, friend or family member, with 70% of first-time buyer properties in Great Britain within the affordability limit of the average two-person income
  • Rightmove suggests more options could be considered to help people buying on their own to get on the property ladder

 

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert says: “Having enough affordable homes in the right places has been an ongoing challenge. It’s clear from our analysis that people trying to buy on their own on the average salary are likely to be priced out of the majority of homes without significant financial help from elsewhere. The government is likely looking at multiple options and how they could help home-movers, and so we wanted to highlight that this group would particularly welcome any help or incentives.”

 

Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert adds: Any focus and support for those with the smallest deposits is always going to be welcome. However, in reality the mortgage guarantee scheme is only able to help a very small portion of movers, with the majority of first time buyers preferring to get the affordability benefits of saving for a bigger deposit . If the scheme was cancelled then it may be seen as a disappointing outcome by some, but in reality it’s unlikely to have a significant impact on consumer choice, as many lenders are offering 5% deposit deals outside of the government scheme.”

Rightmove

UK Property news updates shared directly from Rightmove PLC - the country's leading property portal.

You May Also Enjoy

Home and Living

Kitchen Trade Expert Shares Five Benefits of Fully Assembled Units

The UK kitchen and bedroom fitting sector is currently facing a number of challenges. The UK Trade Skills Index 2023 report revealed that 937,000 new workers will be needed in the construction and trade industries by 2032 to meet the demands of the sector, impacted by the widening skills loss posed by Brexit, an ageing…
Read More
Breaking News

Why are HMO numbers falling?

The latest research from COHO, the HMO management platform, reveals that despite little change in tenant demand, house share availability has dropped by almost -60% in some parts of England, raising the question of whether we’re seeing an HMO landlord exodus. COHO’s analysis of house share listings data* shows that in England, the number of…
Read More
Breaking News

Only 27% of homes have been fixed in a £1.8bn Govt programme

Report shows only 27% of homes have been fixed in a £1.8bn Govt programme, as red tape and asbestos keep thousands in the cold Thousands of homes will face another winter of fuel poverty due to a raft of failures as scheme to fix them hits buffers Hundreds of millions of pounds of allocated grant…
Read More
Breaking News

UK House Price Index for July 2025

The latest index shows that: – The average monthly rate of house price growth in July was +0.3%. The average annual rate of house price growth in July was +2.8%, down slightly from +3.6% in June. As a result, the average UK house price sits at £269,735.   Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von…
Read More
Breaking News

ONS House Price Index – Thoughts from the Industry

Thoughts from the Industry about the latest ONS House Price Index. Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark: “It is positive to see the housing market progressing forward in strength. As we move towards the autumn months, hopefully this momentum will continue. “There continues to be two factors that may weigh heavily on consumers’ minds as they…
Read More
Overseas Property

European capitals hold £76bn worth of property potential

The latest market insight from international property consultancy, Astons, reveals that across seven major European capital cities for property investment activity, the current market holds £75.8bn worth of opportunities. Astons has analysed the current property markets in seven major European capital cities* to see which have the most residential listings and therefore offer the greatest…
Read More