Thousands expected to just miss stamp duty deadline on March 31

According to Rightmove, 79 per cent of homes in Yorkshire and the Humber are priced at less than £425,000, and 63 per cent of homes for sale in the region are priced at under £300,000.

Rightmove looked at the total number of homes currently going through the legal completion process, and the date they are likely to complete, based on factors including the area and type of property.

The data is based on homes marked sold subject to contract (SSTC) and the average length of time to complete a home purchase, at 163 days, or just over five months.

Rightmove calculated that those first-time buyers completing in April rather than by March 31 could pay a combined £34m in additional stamp duty tax.

The website made its estimates for first-time buyers based on transactions involving homes with two bedrooms or fewer and priced at up to £625,000.

The website estimates that a total of nearly 74,000 home movers in England will just miss the deadline and complete in April.

Home-movers just missing the deadline and completing in April rather than by March 31 will pay a combined £142m more in stamp duty payments than they would have paid if they had completed their home purchase before the deadline, the website estimated.

The south east of England was identified by Rightmove as a hotspot for home movers just missing out on the deadline.

It predicted a conveyancing log-jam as the deadline approaches and those going through the completion process try to get their purchase over the line.

Colleen Babcock , a property expert at Rightmove , said: “We expect a rush to complete close to March 31 as first-time buyers and home-movers try to avoid paying extra in tax."

Nathan Emerson, chief exective of property professionals' body Propertymark, said: “There will be a lot of first-time buyers disheartened by the fact that they will have to pay, in some cases, thousands of extra pounds to complete their house purchase from April, especially as many of the delays experienced will have been out of the buyers' control due to issues presented in the property chain.”

The figures came as separate analysis from property website Zoopla found that the proportion of first-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland who will need to pay stamp duty will double from April. Zoopla estimates the share of first-time buyers paying the tax will jump from 21 per cent to 42 per cent. In Yorkshire and the Humber, the figure is expected to rise from one to three per cent. Meanwhile the proportion of existing homeowners buying a new home as their main residence who will be liable to pay stamp duty will increase from 49 per cent to 83 per cent, according to Zoopla's calculations.

In Yorkshire and the Humber, the figure will jump from eight per cent to 56 per cent.

Beautiful houses, amazing restaurants and more - get our Lifestyle newsletter Overall Zoopla estimates that the stamp duty changes could add an extra £1.1bn annually in the tax to government coffers. The website's analysis was based on buyer inquiries to estate agents and property prices and excludes the impact of those buying additional homes. Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla said: “Stamp duty has become a big source of tax revenue, approaching £10bn a year for the Government. The reduction in tax reliefs from April will see more home buyers paying stamp duty." According to figures from Rightmove, the average asking price for a home has increased by 22 per cent since November 2017, when the £300,000 first-time buyer relief threshold was introduced. The typical price tag has increased from £302,630 in November 2017 to £367,994.

Meanwhile, the number of homes valued at £1m-plus across Britain has jumped by around a third over the past five years, Savills has estimated. Savills calculated a net gain of 3,127 more properties being worth at least £1m last year, compared with 2023, taking the total number of homes valued at this level to around 702,580, a number which has increased by 34 per cent over the past five years.

Outside of London , one in every 73 homes are worth £1m-plus, Savills estimated. There were 12,200 million-pound properties in Yorkshire and the Humber, an increase of 522 on the previous year.