Only one in five homes sold in England and Wales over the past year would be affected by a proposed change in property tax, currently under consideration by Chancellor Rachel Reeves. The government is exploring a radical shift in the way property transactions are taxed.
The new proposal would abolish the existing stamp duty system, eliminating the buyer’s responsibility to pay this tax when purchasing a home. Instead, a seller’s tax would be introduced on homes sold for more than £500,000.
Exclusive analysis of Land Registry data shows that this change would have impacted over 118,000 home sales in the last year, where properties were sold above the £500,000 mark.
READ MORE: Katie Price Finds Peace Amid Public Dispute with Ex-Husband Peter Andre
READ MORE: Lovely Yet Overlooked Seaside Town Hides Tensions Beneath Its Sunny Surface
Regionally, the South of England would bear the greatest impact, with many southern postcode areas seeing every home sold exceed the £500,000 threshold. For instance, in London’s King’s Cross (N1C), all 24 properties sold were above this value, as were all homes in postal districts such as WC1A (New Oxford Street), WC2H (Leicester Square), and SW1A (Whitehall and Buckingham Palace). Conversely, 211 postal areas recorded no sales exceeding the threshold, with 52% of these located in the North and 23% in the Midlands.
The list of top areas with the highest number of homes sold over £500,000 highlights the concentration of high-value property sales in London and its surroundings, alongside some notable areas outside the capital. For example, Battersea and Clapham Junction (SW11) led with 813 home sales over £500,000, followed by Wandsworth and Southfields (SW18) with 712 sales, and Fulham (SW6) with 697 sales.
In London’s prime central locations, several postcodes showed nearly or fully 100% of homes sold above the threshold, underscoring the significant tax implications of the proposed changes for sellers in these affluent areas.