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%
Research by Zoopla has found 59 % of properties for sale in the UK over the past year would have been exempt from stamp duty for first - time buyers . Scotland had the highest percentage of exempt properties ( 61 % ) , followed by England ( 58 % ) and Wales ( 56 % ) . First - time buyers are expected to be the largest buyer group of 2019 , according to Zoopla .