Most active property price market thresholds revealed

The latest research by Birmingham estate and lettings agent, Barrows and Forrester, has revealed just how influential the stamp duty holiday seems to have been in shaping property market activity since the start of the year.

Barrows and Forrester analysed property market transactions across every county of England and Wales since the start of the year, looking at which property price threshold had been the most active.

The figures show that across England and Wales as a whole, an estimated 355,827 sales have completed so far this year.

43% of these sales have completed for a price within the £250,000 price threshold, the price at which the final extension of the stamp duty holiday saw home buyers pay no stamp duty up until as recently as last month.

A further 40% of all homes sold so far this year have done so between the £250,001 and £500,000 price threshold.

Just 11% have sold for between £501,001 and £750,000, while the £750,001+ price threshold accounts for just 6% of all transactions.

When analysing the market at county level, the £250,000 price threshold was the most active area of the market across 44 counties, with a further 25 seeing the most sales complete between £250,0001 and £500,000.

Interestingly, no county saw the most market activity between £500,001 and £750,000, while just the City of London was home to the most active market at the £750,000+ price threshold.

Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, commented:

“While there is always likely to be a larger number of sales at lower price threshold simply due to the affordability of property, It’s clear that the stamp duty holiday has been hugely influential and has shaped the face of the market during the pandemic.

We’ve seen the largest levels of market activity fall within the price bracket at which there remained a saving for the most prolonged period and in many areas, the gap in activity at this level of the market and the rest has been vast.”

Table shows what percentage of transactions so far in 2021 completed at each price threshold
Location	Up to £250,000	£250,001 to £500,000	£500,001-£750,000	£750,001 plus
England and Wales	43%	40%	11%	6%
England	42%	40%	12%	6%
Wales	71%	25%	3%	1%
Data sourced from the Land Registry Price Paid Records - All residential sales excluding those listed by property type as 'other' - Jan to Aug 2021 (latest available)

Table shows how many counties saw the highest level of market activity in each property price threshold
Bracket with most trans	Count	% of trans
Up to £250,000	44	63%
£250,001 to £500,000	25	36%
£500,001-£750,000	0	0%
£750,001 plus	1	1%
Data sourced from the Land Registry Price Paid Records - All residential sales excluding those listed by property type as 'other' - Jan to Aug 2021 (latest available)

Table shows what percentage of transactions so far in 2021 have completed at each price threshold in each county of England and Wales
County	up to £250,000 %	£250,001 to £500,000 %	£500,001-£750,000 %	£750,001 plus %	Total trans	Bracket with most trans
Bedfordshire	27%	61%	9%	3%	4,407	£250,001 to £500,000
Berkshire	11%	58%	21%	10%	5,809	£250,001 to £500,000
Blaenau Gwent	96%	4%	0%	0%	341	Up to £250,000
Bridgend	77%	21%	2%	0%	901	Up to £250,000
Buckinghamshire	16%	51%	20%	13%	5,542	£250,001 to £500,000
Caerphilly	86%	13%	1%	0%	857	Up to £250,000
Cambridgeshire	36%	49%	11%	4%	5,324	£250,001 to £500,000
Cardiff	53%	40%	6%	1%	1,746	Up to £250,000
Carmarthenshire	78%	21%	1%	0%	1,063	Up to £250,000
Ceredigion	64%	34%	2%	1%	426	Up to £250,000
Cheshire	54%	35%	7%	4%	7,348	Up to £250,000
City of Bristol	25%	58%	12%	5%	2,994	£250,001 to £500,000
City of London	0%	12%	37%	51%	57	£750,001 plus
Conwy	71%	27%	2%	0%	783	Up to £250,000
Cornwall	44%	44%	8%	4%	4,247	£250,001 to £500,000
County Durham	85%	14%	1%	0%	5,213	Up to £250,000
Cumbria	70%	25%	4%	1%	3,598	Up to £250,000
Denbighshire	75%	23%	2%	0%	557	Up to £250,000
Derbyshire	69%	26%	4%	1%	6,360	Up to £250,000
Devon	47%	42%	8%	3%	9,310	Up to £250,000
Dorset	26%	54%	14%	6%	6,655	£250,001 to £500,000
East Riding of Yorkshire	74%	23%	3%	1%	3,598	Up to £250,000
East Sussex	20%	55%	16%	8%	7,032	£250,001 to £500,000
Essex	21%	59%	14%	6%	13,648	£250,001 to £500,000
Flintshire	77%	21%	2%	0%	809	Up to £250,000
Gloucestershire	36%	50%	10%	4%	6,611	£250,001 to £500,000
Greater London	5%	44%	29%	22%	40,061	£250,001 to £500,000
Greater Manchester	66%	29%	4%	2%	15,006	Up to £250,000
Gwynedd	74%	24%	2%	1%	777	Up to £250,000
Hampshire	28%	52%	14%	6%	13,161	£250,001 to £500,000
Herefordshire	44%	46%	8%	2%	1,264	£250,001 to £500,000
Hertfordshire	9%	53%	23%	14%	8,170	£250,001 to £500,000
Isle of Anglesey	67%	29%	3%	1%	462	Up to £250,000
Isle of Wight	48%	42%	7%	3%	1,276	Up to £250,000
Kent	26%	56%	12%	5%	13,792	£250,001 to £500,000
Lancashire	78%	19%	2%	1%	9,081	Up to £250,000
Leicestershire	55%	38%	6%	1%	5,750	Up to £250,000
Lincolnshire	70%	27%	3%	1%	7,241	Up to £250,000
Merseyside	75%	22%	3%	1%	7,265	Up to £250,000
Merthyr Tydfil	88%	11%	0%	0%	228	Up to £250,000
Monmouthshire	33%	54%	10%	2%	575	£250,001 to £500,000
Neath Port Talbot	90%	10%	0%	0%	756	Up to £250,000
Newport	70%	28%	2%	1%	799	Up to £250,000
Norfolk	48%	43%	7%	2%	6,824	Up to £250,000
North Yorkshire	59%	31%	7%	3%	8,109	Up to £250,000
Northamptonshire	44%	46%	9%	1%	626	£250,001 to £500,000
Northumberland	69%	24%	5%	2%	1,923	Up to £250,000
Nottinghamshire	67%	29%	4%	1%	6,552	Up to £250,000
Oxfordshire	14%	57%	18%	10%	4,633	£250,001 to £500,000
Pembrokeshire	68%	27%	4%	1%	754	Up to £250,000
Powys	64%	33%	3%	1%	732	Up to £250,000
Rhondda Cynon Taff	88%	12%	1%	0%	1,268	Up to £250,000
Rutland	30%	44%	16%	10%	289	£250,001 to £500,000
Shropshire	56%	36%	7%	1%	3,103	Up to £250,000
Somerset	38%	48%	10%	4%	7,276	£250,001 to £500,000
South Yorkshire	77%	20%	2%	1%	7,140	Up to £250,000
Staffordshire	67%	28%	4%	1%	6,410	Up to £250,000
Suffolk	42%	46%	9%	3%	5,233	£250,001 to £500,000
Surrey	7%	46%	27%	20%	9,378	£250,001 to £500,000
Swansea	72%	24%	3%	1%	1,227	Up to £250,000
The Vale of Glamorgan	48%	38%	9%	4%	789	Up to £250,000
Torfaen	80%	19%	1%	0%	452	Up to £250,000
Tyne and Wear	79%	19%	2%	0%	5,569	Up to £250,000
Warwickshire	42%	45%	9%	4%	4,037	£250,001 to £500,000
West Midlands	66%	28%	5%	1%	12,528	Up to £250,000
West Sussex	16%	59%	17%	8%	7,084	£250,001 to £500,000
West Yorkshire	72%	24%	3%	1%	13,344	Up to £250,000
Wiltshire	41%	47%	9%	4%	5,068	£250,001 to £500,000
Worcestershire	45%	44%	8%	2%	3,916	Up to £250,000
Wrexham	78%	20%	2%	0%	663	Up to £250,000
Data sourced from the Land Registry Price Paid Records - All residential sales excluding those listed by property type as 'other' - Jan to Aug 2021 (latest available)