By Research from LRG reveals that buyer confidence is strong heading into spring, but a year on from the Stamp Duty threshold changes, the tax has emerged as the single biggest financial friction point, and the property group is calling on the government to act.
The mood among property buyers this spring is, by and large, a positive one, despite recent events in the Middle East. According to LRG’s Spring 2026 Sales Report – which surveyed 307 buyers and sellers across England and Wales – 69% feel at least as confident about their property plans as they did a year ago. Nearly six in 10 expect to complete a move within six months, and nearly a third aim to do so within three.
Yet one concern stands out. 30% of those surveyed cite Stamp Duty as a worry when buying or selling, making it the single biggest financial concern in the market. By comparison, just 11% are worried about mortgage rates rising, 19% fear house prices will fall after they buy and only 23% cite the cost of living. It is Stamp Duty – a tax buyers can do nothing about individually – that has emerged as the friction point the market is most focused on.
Today marks a year since the temporary Stamp Duty thresholds introduced in 2022 came to an end. The nil-rate band for standard buyers dropped from £250,000 to £125,000, and for first-time buyers, relief fell from £425,000 to £300,000. The months leading up to that deadline saw a surge of buyers racing to complete before 1 April, with HMRC itself noting a large peak in transactions in March 2025, driven by purchases brought forward ahead of the changes.
Based on the current average asking price of £371,042 – according to Rightmove’s House Price Index (March 2026) – a standard home mover now faces a Stamp Duty bill of £8,552. Under the pre-April 2025 thresholds, that same buyer would have paid £6,052. That’s an additional £2,500 on the cost of moving, before legal fees, surveys or removal costs are factored in.
First-time buyers face a different calculation. At the average asking price, a first-time buyer purchasing at £371,042 now pays £3,552 in Stamp Duty. Under the previous thresholds, they would have paid nothing, and, for a generation already stretching to save a deposit, that’s a meaningful additional burden.
Yet first-time buyers aren’t deterred. Despite the additional cost, 59% of those surveyed say now is simply the right time in their lives to buy.
Kevin Shaw, National Sales Managing Director at LRG, said:
“What our research shows is a market with a high percentage of motivated, prepared buyers. Nearly seven in ten feel as confident as they did a year ago, and of those taking out a mortgage, 81% have already secured an Agreement in Principle. Recent increases in the cost of fixed-rate mortgages may dampen sentiment,but demand is real, and the intent is there.
“Stamp Duty remains an outdated tax that restricts mobility and puts the brakes on economic activity. A year on from the threshold changes, we’re seeing that friction show up in buyer sentiment in a way that mortgage rates – even before last week’s decision to hold – simply aren’t.
“The wider property market represents a significant portion of the economy – when transactions flow, solicitors, surveyors, mortgage brokers and removal companies all benefit. Stamp Duty thresholds have failed to keep pace with property values over the long term, and reform is long overdue. Buyers are ready and motivated, and the government has an opportunity to make it easier for them.”
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