Of all the UK properties for sale over the last year, 59% would have been exempt from any type of transaction tax for first-time buyers.
Zoopla has crunched the numbers by analysing its listings across 12 months and then comparing prices to the tax thresholds across England, Scotland and Wales.
In England, the stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers is £300,000, while the threshold for Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in Scotland is set at £175,000 and Wales' Land Transaction Tax has a threshold of £180,000.
Some 61% of available properties in Scotland would have been exempt for first-timers over the past year, falling to 58% in England and 56% in Wales.
First-time purchasers in the towns of Bootle in Merseyside, Shildon in County Durham, Heckmondwike in West Yorkshire and Blyth in Northumberland would have had access to 99% or more of available stock without having to pay a transaction tax.
At the other end of the scale is Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire, Ingatestone in Essex, Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire and Radlett in Hertfordshire all with less than 4% of homes priced under the first-time buyer tax threshold.
In London, where the £300,000 threshold applies, as well as relief for first-time buyers purchasing for £500,000 or below, Croydon was the borough with the highest proportion of available homes exempt from stamp duty (26.8%), with 81.7% of homes eligible for a partial stamp duty discount.
Other boroughs with high numbers of properties offering stamp duty relief were Bromley, Newham, Lewisham and Greenwich.
"First-time buyers are set to be the largest buyer group of 2019 - and indications are that many have been bolstered by the SDLT relief that applies to a typically-priced, entry level property," says Laura Howard, spokesperson for Zoopla.
"[These purchasers] are new to the buying process, so agents have a key role to play in providing helpful information, and by making the stamp duty thresholds clear – it could help to build a trusted agent-buyer relationship that will last for years to come," she says.
You can see Zoopla's research tables below.
Country % of homes exempt from FTB Tax
|
County
|
FTB Tax Threshold
|
% Below FTB Tax Threshold
|
% Above FTB Tax Threshold
|
|
England
|
£300,000
|
58.2%
|
41.8%
|
|
Scotland
|
£175,000
|
61.4%
|
38.6%
|
|
Wales
|
£180,000*
|
56.1%
|
43.9%
|
|
Great Britain
|
N/A
|
59.2%
|
40.8%
|
Highest % of homes exempt from FTB Tax
|
Rank
|
Postal Town
|
Average value October 2019
|
% Below FTB SDT Threshold
|
% Above FTB SDT Threshold
|
|
1=
|
Bootle
|
£100,534
|
99.6%
|
0.4%
|
|
1=
|
Shildon
|
£84,286
|
99.6%
|
0.4%
|
|
3
|
Heckmondwike
|
£132,383
|
99.2%
|
0.8%
|
|
4=
|
Blyth
|
£127,087
|
99.0%
|
1.0%
|
|
5=
|
Gateshead
|
£139,084
|
99.0%
|
1.0%
|
Lowest % of homes exempt from FTB Tax
|
Rank
|
Postal Town
|
Average value October 2019
|
% Below FTB Tax Threshold
|
% Above FTB Tax Threshold
|
|
1
|
Beaconsfield
|
£1,048,917
|
1.7%
|
98.3%
|
|
2
|
Ingatestone
|
£724,203
|
2.0%
|
98.0%
|
|
3
|
Chalfont St Giles
|
£1,004,298
|
3.4%
|
96.6%
|
|
4
|
Radlett
|
£963,548
|
3.8%
|
96.2%
|
|
5
|
Thames Ditton
|
£744,210
|
4.6%
|
95.4%
|
London Borough % of homes exempt from FTB Tax
|
Rank
|
Borough
|
Average value October 2019
|
% Below FTB SDT Threshold
|
% Above FTB SDT Threshold
|
% Partial SDT discount (Under £500k)
|
|
1
|
Croydon
|
£410,162
|
26.8%
|
73.2%
|
81.7%
|
|
2
|
Bromley
|
£512,679
|
18.1%
|
81.9%
|
79.7%
|
|
3
|
Newham
|
£360,572
|
18.8%
|
81.2%
|
74.9%
|
|
4
|
Lewisham
|
£454,830
|
15.1%
|
84.9%
|
64.0%
|
|
5
|
Greenwich
|
£441,652
|
17.6%
|
82.4%
|
63.2%
|
|
6
|
Waltham Forest
|
£431,366
|
14.1%
|
85.9%
|
59.6%
|
|
7
|
Enfield
|
£456,675
|
17.6%
|
82.4%
|
59.4%
|
|
8
|
Redbridge
|
£441,735
|
8.9%
|
91.1%
|
51.6%
|
|
9
|
Brent
|
£507,744
|
7.0%
|
93.0%
|
47.6%
|
|
10
|
Tower Hamlets
|
£520,439
|
3.0%
|
97.0%
|
46.0%
|
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