This was despite the number of Stamp Duty liable transactions falling by 5%. Residential purchases generated almost £2bn in Stamp Duty for Q1 of 2017 up 16% on Q1 2016.

However, HM Revenue and Customs warned that liable transactions in Q1 of 2016 were unusually high, and so year-on-year comparisons for this quarter should be made with caution.

Data from HMRC showed that the number of liable transactions valued between £250,000 and £500,000, and above £500,000 were down noticeably on the same period last year – by 10% and 14% respectively.

Only liable purchases priced between the Stamp Duty cut off of £125,000 and £250,000 were largely unchanged on 2016.

 

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Unfair burden

Private Finance director Shaun Church said it was entirely unsurprising to see fewer residential property transactions liable for Stamp Duty given the huge spike in transactions.

“However, the statistics make it clear that the upper-end of the market has unfairly borne the brunt of land tax reform,” he said.

“While the number of liable transactions with a value of less than £250,000 is practically unchanged from a year ago, there has been a 14% fall in transactions with a value above £500,000.

“A healthy property market needs movement and fluidity at all levels and across all tenures, but it appears that the changes have unfairly targeted the upper-end of the market – which does little to help the cause of first-time buyers,” he added.