Upcoming changes to stamp duty will “motivate” first-time buyers to buy a property, according to the Halifax. The average price of a UK home ended 2024 close to the £300,000 mark, the UK’s biggest mortgage broker said. Its calculations suggested UK house prices increased by 3.3% when comparing the end of the year to the start, although the average value dipped slightly in December. It means the average home now costs £297,166, it added.
In April, house buyers in England and Northern Ireland will start paying stamp duty on properties over £125,000, instead of over £250,000 at the moment. First-time buyers currently pay no stamp duty on homes up to £425,000, but this will drop to £300,000.
Affordability remains ‘a challenge’
The Halifax’s figures come a few days after rival lender, the Nationwide, said that the UK housing market had been “remarkably resilient” in 2024, with a 4.7% increase in prices at the end of the year compared with the start. The two lenders use their own mortgage data, and have slightly differing criteria when calculating house prices, so the Nationwide puts the average property price at almost £270,000.
Both lenders do not include buyers who purchase homes with cash, or buy-to-let deals, in their estimates. Cash buyers account for about a third of housing sales.
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