Colchester Property Market Update – August 2024
By Andy Wade – Director Gallant Richardson Colchester
First Time Buyers Have Just Eight Months Before Stamp Duty Increases
First-time buyers have until April 2025, just 8 months away, before the current and significant savings on stamp duty will end.
Until April 2025, first-time buyers do not have to pay stamp duty on a property purchase up to £425,000, and should the property be more expensive, they only pay the tax on the portion above £425,000.
After April 2025, the limit, which has been at this reduced level since 2022, is due to revert to its original threshold of £300,000.
What are the cost implications?
As an example, currently, a first-time buyer that purchases a home at £425,000 pays no stamp duty, that’s zero £s… From April of 2025, the same property purchased at £425,000, the stamp duty will be £6,250.
Perhaps more typical, with the UK average asking price, according to Rightmove, of £373,493, a first-time buyer will pay £3,675 in stamp duty from April 2025, compared with paying nothing from now until the April deadline.
To compound the issue, if a first-time buyer were to have an offer on a property accepted today, typically the minimum transaction time would be 3-4 months but could easily extend to 5-6 months with the notoriously slow transaction process as well as the Christmas break which can also cause delays. Therefore, any first-time buyers looking to avoid stamp duty will need to start the buying process sooner rather than later.
How to calculate stamp duty?
You can check how much stamp duty you will currently pay by using the official government stamp duty calculator, although, the general rule is that first-time buyers pay nothing on the portion up to £425,000, and 5 per cent on the portion between £425,001 and £625,000.
Those paying more than that cannot claim the relief and are subject to the same rules as non-first-time buyers.
Property Market in Colchester – August 2024
August is traditionally the holiday season with people often more focused on their summer holiday than moving home. This year, whilst it has been a little less frantic than normal, the local Colchester property market has remained active, particularly following the Bank of England interest rate cut.
Some of the homes recently listed for sale in Colchester
House for Sale in Colchester – Guide Price £350,000
House for Sale in Colchester – £350,000
Apartment for Sale in Colchester – £240,000
House Sold in Colchester – Colchester
Apartment for Sale in Colchester – £175,000
Considering a Move to Colchester
We are bracing ourselves for an extremely busy September, which is normally a busy time but with the rate cut and the change to the stamp duty threshold. The demand for first-time buyer properties in Colchester is already strong and only likely to become more so.
If you are considering a move please feel free to call our office, either for an informal chat about the market and how we might help you with this or to book a market appraisal.
To see the very latest homes coming to the market, click ‘New to market homes’, this lists all of the very latest homes as they come to the market.
You can also see our ‘Recently Sold Properties’.
Andy Wade – Gallant Richardson
See our ‘Customer Reviews’.