LRG said that buyer confidence is strong heading into spring, but a year on from the stamp duty threshold changes and the tax is holding back buyers.

The property group is calling on the government to act.

According to LRG’s Spring 2026 Sales Report, nearly six in 10 buyers and sellers expect to complete a move within six months, and nearly a third aim to do so within three.

But 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.

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 HM Revenue & Customs 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 March House Price Index  – 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.

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.

LRG national sales managing director Kevin Shaw said: “Stamp duty remains an outdated tax that restricts mobility and puts the brakes on economic activity.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.”