The availability of stamp duty-free housing stock is set to drop by 20% following the changes to stamp duty rules in the Autumn Budget last week, eXp UK has revealed.

An estimated 453,212 homes are currently listed for sale in England, with 62% of these properties priced below the current first-time buyer stamp duty land tax (SDLT) threshold of £425,000.

As a result, these properties are available for purchase without paying any SDLT at all.

However, under the incoming lower threshold of £300,000, which will come into effect in April next year, only 42% of the properties would be available without the tax.

This marks a reduction of 20%, with the number of SDLT properties that are available to first-time buyers dropping by 91,570.

Head of eXp UK, Adam Day, said: "There was hope that last week’s Autumn Budget would extend the current stamp duty relief given to first-time buyers, at the very least.

"Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case and, as a result, the nation’s first-time buyers now need to prepare themselves for a significant reduction in the number of homes available to them that would come with the benefit of no stamp duty owed.

"Those currently on the hunt still have time to beat next year’s deadline but they need to get their skates on and complete within the next five months."

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