Homebuyers rushed to complete property purchases last month ahead of a dramatic reduction to stamp duty relief, making more people liable for the tax.
The latest data has found that mortgage completions rose by 50 per cent in March, representing the highest increase in more than three years.
Notably, the hike in the number of mortgage completions was higher for first-time homebuyers, being up 70 per cent compared to the month before, based on Barclays lending data.
As of April, first-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland are paying stamp duty on properties priced from £300,000, down from the original threshold of £425,000.
Britons rushed to complete their mortgage applications in light of stamp duty relief being slashed
GETTY
For other types of homebuyers in the UK, the threshold at which individuals start to pay the levy has plummeted from £250,000 to £125,000.
Analysts are warning that there are signs that higher stamp duty costs are beginning to impact activity within the housing market, with a quarter of current homeowners surveyed citing stamp duty as the biggest barrier to buying their next home.
This percentage rises to 40 per cent among Generation Z.
Figures from Halifax this month project that average house prices had declined by 0.5 per cent compared with February.
Do you have a money story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing money@gbnews.uk.
Property prices dipped slightly GETTYBased on the latest Halifax figures, the average house price across the country sits at £296,699, which is down from £298,274 in February 2025.
It should be noted that this figure is still more than £3,000 higher than during summer 2022, when the housing market’s post-lockdown boom peaked.
As well as stamp duty, research from Barclays identified solicitors' fees and surveys as being other extra costs causing Britons stress.
Homeowners who bought property in the past year have to add £13,530 to the property price tag, compared with £9,337 cited by those who bought a home more than five years ago.
Jatin Patel, the head of mortgages, savings and insurance at the bank, described March as being a “blockbuster month” for mortgage completions.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
The Bank of England has made multiple changes to the base rate over the years CHAT GPT Patel said: "Meanwhile, for existing homeowners and renters the shift in sentiment reflects the cautiousness felt across the economy as a whole, as consumers are concerned about rising bills and the prospect of global tariffs impacting their wallets.”
Last month, rent and mortgage spending increased 5.4 per cent year-on-year, a drop from 7.7 per cent in February.
This is in line with the Bank of England's base rate cut, which saw interest rates slip to 4.5 per cent.
