Nick Lieb, Chief Operations Officer at Share to Buy, the country's largest first time buyer property portal, comments:

“With the Autumn Budget confirming no new Stamp Duty relief for first time buyers, the housing market continues to be a challenging place for those eager to step on the property ladder. This decision leaves buyers facing rising property prices without the buffer of past Stamp Duty breaks, driving many to rush their purchases before further changes come in March 2025. First time buyers currently pay no Stamp Duty when buying a home worth up to £425,000 but this threshold will drop to £300,000 in spring next year.

“In the absence of relief, government support should focus on accessible pathways like Shared Ownership to help first time buyers counteract the growing affordability crisis. In recent years, these schemes have allowed buyers to access properties with deposits and share values considerably lower than traditional purchases, with minimum Shared Ownership deposits in key regions such as the South East currently starting from £1,600 on the Share to Buy website.

“Whilst the Budget's decision to reduce the Right to Buy discount may hinder those looking to take their first step onto the property ladder, the promise to reinvest more sales profits locally is an important step. The chancellor's commitment to raising the Affordable Homes Programme to £3.1 billion and allocating £5 billion from Right to Buy sales back into housing could deliver significant new affordable housing stock in the future. This is welcome news, but both the housing sector and hopeful buyers are calling for solutions that will bolster affordability, mitigate interest rate burdens, and continue to expand the availability of affordable housing stock.”

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Issued by Faust PR on behalf of Share to Buy, contact ella@faustpr.co.uk / 020 8392 1085

About Share to Buy

Share to Buy is the leading online portal for Shared Ownership properties and alternative housing schemes. The site is a one-stop shop for first time buyers, offering the country's largest listing of Shared Ownership homes for sale, as well as a wealth of guides, tools and calculators to help potential buyers understand their housing options.

To date, over 500,000 budding buyers have registered with Share to Buy, with thousands of Shared Ownership and other first time buyer properties currently listed from the UK's largest housing providers, including Peabody New Homes, Hyde New Homes, L&Q and Metropolitan Thames Valley.

sharetobuy.com