Young people in the UK looking to earn, save and purchase their own homes are facing an added cost their immediate predecessors were not facing less than two years ago. An added cost of thousands. This can limit the scope of homes for purchase that are affordable within a first time buyer's budget.

In 2025, the threshold which exempted first time buyers from paying stamp duty on the value of a property up to that threshold, was decreased from £425,000 to £300,000. This means that FTBs purchasing homes valued more than £300,000 have to pay stamp duty tax on everything above £300,000. We see this as the goalpost being moved at a considerable cost, and question how this is meant to encourage & support first time buyers (many of whom are young couples or families). We believe a smaller decrease in the threshold would have been better (e.g. to £350,000) or keeping it as it was.