The agency’s research finds that having Stamp Duty paid is comfortably the most persuasive incentive a developer can put in front of a buyer.
Meanwhile a mortgage subsidy,I – a mainstay of housebuilder marketing through the higher-rate years – now appeals to just one buyer in 20.
LRG’s Sales Report, based on a survey of more than 700 buyers and sellers, asked those who would consider a new-build which incentive would most influence their decision.
Stamp Duty paid came top at 31%.
Below it, buyers consistently favour incentives that reduce what they have to pay on completion.
Estate agent and solicitor fees paid were named by 12% and part-exchange of a current property by 9%.
A mortgage subsidy or reduced rate was chosen by just 5%.
The lifestyle extras register lowest of all, with a garden or landscaping package at 2% and an interior design voucher at 1%.
The finding arrives at a rare moment of certainty.
The Prime Minister has ruled out any change to Stamp Duty at the Autumn Budget so the thresholds set in April 2025 still stand.
Tim Foreman, Land and New Homes Group MD at LRG, says: “Buyers are pricing the whole move, not just the home.
“An incentive that takes a real cost off the completion statement, whether that is the tax bill or the legal and agency fees, is understood straight away and can be weighed against a deposit.
“A furnishing or landscaping package is harder for a buyer to put a figure on, and on this evidence it rarely tips a decision on its own.
“What the research also shows is that the same incentives do very different jobs for different people. A part-exchange offer and a Stamp Duty contribution appeal to quite separate groups of buyers.
“Matching the incentive to the buyer in front of you is worth more than adding another line to the brochure.”
