{"id":124610,"date":"2026-08-23T09:12:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T08:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=124610"},"modified":"2026-08-23T09:12:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T08:12:31","slug":"stamp-duty-overhaul-extra-home-moves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/stamp-duty-overhaul-extra-home-moves\/","title":{"rendered":"Stamp Duty Overhaul Could Unleash a Wave of 300,000 Extra Home Moves"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Abolishing Stamp Duty Land Tax could increase housing market activity by more than 25%, potentially generating more than 300,000 additional property transactions each year, according to Rathbones<\/strong>. The wealth management firm says the tax discourages some households from moving, even when their homes no longer suit their circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The call comes as speculation continues over possible changes to property taxation ahead of the Autumn Budget. Rathbones argues that policymakers should assess property taxes <\/strong>not only by the revenue they generate, but also by their effects on labour mobility, housing use and economic activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stamp Duty Costs May Be Restricting Household Mobility<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stamp Duty Land Tax is charged on property purchases in England and Northern Ireland above set thresholds. Standard buyers currently pay no tax on the first \u00a3125,000, followed by 2% on the portion between \u00a3125,000 and \u00a3250,000, and 5% on the portion between \u00a3250,000 and \u00a3925,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different rules apply to first-time buyers. They pay no Stamp Duty on the first \u00a3300,000 of a qualifying purchase and 5% on the portion up to \u00a3500,000. Buyers who will own more than one property generally face an additional 5% on top of standard rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Rathbones<\/a>, these upfront costs can influence whether people decide to move at all. Jay Lawrence<\/a>, investment director at the firm\u2019s Guildford office, said clients increasingly report remaining in properties <\/strong>that no longer meet their needs because the financial case for moving is weak.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Credit: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

He said some older homeowners find that the costs of downsizing reduce much of the financial benefit, while younger families can face significant barriers when trying to move into more suitable homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rathbones\u2019 Building Prosperity report<\/a> cites research suggesting that household mobility could be 27% higher without Stamp Duty. The report says this would be equivalent to more than 300,000 additional home transactions annually. The firm also points to the Australian Capital Territory, where stamp duty reforms were associated with a rise of more than 5% in purchases by first-time buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Housing Wealth and Affordability Remain Uneven Across England<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Residential property accounts for around 40% of UK household wealth, equivalent to more than \u00a35.5 trillion, according to Rathbones. The firm argues that a more mobile housing <\/a>market could allow some of this wealth to be redirected into investment, business creation, spending or transfers between generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Housing affordability, though, remains a substantial constraint in many parts of England and Wales. According to the Office for National Statistics<\/a>, the median home in England cost \u00a3300,000 in 2025, equivalent to 7.6 times the median annual earnings of a full-time employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Affordability has improved since 2021 as earnings have risen faster than house prices. The ONS reported that median earnings across England and Wales increased by 25% between 2021 and 2025, while median house prices rose by 5%. The regional divide remains wide. London had an affordability ratio of 10.6 in 2025, compared with 5.0 in the North East. Kensington and Chelsea was the least affordable local authority, with an affordability ratio of 25.2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rathbones highlights Cambridge as another example of pressure on housing. It says the average home there costs almost \u00a3470,000, around 12 times<\/strong> average earnings. Mark Winchester, head of Rathbones Cambridge, said businesses increasingly identify access to affordable housing as a factor in attracting and retaining skilled workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Rathbones, the case for reform rests on whether reducing transaction costs would make it easier for households to move and allow housing, labour and capital to be used more flexibly across the economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scrapping stamp duty could unlock 300,000 extra home moves a year, Rathbones says. The firm argues that reform could ease moving costs and put more of the UK\u2019s \u00a35.5 trillion in housing wealth to wider economic use<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":124613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-housing","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124610"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124618,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124610\/revisions\/124618"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}