"It’s clear that a large proportion of sellers who are looking to make their move in 2025 chose to sit tight until the dust had settled on the recent stamp duty deadline"
- Verona Frankish - Yopa
The latest analysis from Yopa has revealed that almost 54,000 home sellers have entered the market across England since the 31st March stamp duty deadline expired, with a significant proportion of existing sellers also slashing their asking price expectations in order to help attract buyers following the SDLT cost increase.
Yopa analysed current for sale stock across the market in England, looking at the proportion of homes to have entered the market in the seven days since stamp duty costs increased, as well as the proportion of market stock that has reduced in asking price at the new stamp duty price thresholds.
The research shows that of the 431,836 homes currently listed for sale across England, 53,468 have entered the market following the expiry of the previous stamp duty relief threshold (1st April to 7th April).
The South East has seen the most new homes enter the market for sale, with over 10,000 new listings in the first seven days of the month, followed by London where 8,234 new homes have been put up for sale.
However, just 7% of the 53,468 new homes hitting the market across England have been listed with an asking price below the new stamp duty free threshold of £125,000.
But whilst there may not be a great deal of stamp duty free stock entering the market, additional analysis by Yopa suggests that existing sellers have tried to help mitigate some of the increased cost of stamp duty incurred by homebuyers by way of an asking price reduction.
Previous to 1st April, no stamp duty was charged on purchases up to £250,000. However, from this month, a 2% charge now applies to homes purchased between £125,001 and £250,000.
Analysis of current stock shows that, when it comes to properties that have seen an asking price reduction, the largest proportion sits between the price bands of £125,000 and £250,000.
In fact, 38% of all homes listed at this price threshold have seen an asking price reduction, whilst 35% of all homes priced from £0 to £125,000 have also reduced in price - the joint second largest proportion of all price bands.
This suggests that a high proportion of sellers are reducing their asking price expectations in order to help mitigate the increased cost of stamp duty endured by homebuyers purchasing between £125,001 and £250,000, or to price below the new stamp duty free threshold of £125,000.
“It’s clear that a large proportion of sellers who are looking to make their move in 2025 chose to sit tight until the dust had settled on the recent stamp duty deadline, with more than 50,000 homes entering the market in the first seven days of April," explained CEO of Yopa, Verona Frankish.
"However," she added, "It’s also clear that the nation’s sellers are keen to meet buyers in the middle, with a high proportion of homes listed within the new 2% stamp duty charge threshold, reducing in asking price to help mitigate the additional cost incurred.
"At the same time, a significant proportion of homes listed below the £125,000 threshold have also seen a price reduction, suggesting that many sellers have dropped their price expectations in order to maintain the added allure of a stamp duty free purchase.”
