Aneisha Beveridge, research director at Connells Group, said: “Saving for a deposit is often still the biggest mountain most first-time buyers have to climb – but for a growing number, the stamp duty bill waiting at the top is adding to the strain.
“Across Connells Group, around one in four first-time buyers (26 per cent) bought a home over £300,000 last year, putting them into stamp duty territory.
“Back in 2017, when the £300,000 nil-rate band was first introduced, it was closer to one in seven.
“But the picture really depends on where you live.
“In London, where the average first-time buyer spends around £440,000, three-quarters (77 per cent) are now buying above the threshold.
“For many, that means finding an extra £7,000 for stamp duty – roughly the equivalent of just over three months’ rent in the capital – on top of an already chunky deposit.
“Even so, the market has felt somewhat kinder in recent months.
“Mortgage rates have been drifting down and wage growth has held up, which has helped more new buyers take the leap.
“That’s showing up in the numbers: first-time buyers made up 34 per cent of all purchases across Great Britain last month, the highest share we’ve recorded in any January since 2006.
“And as affordability improves, fewer are needing to push their mortgage term beyond 30 years, a trend that’s slowly starting to reverse last year’s peak.”
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