There are just 387 properties currently for sale at £300,000 or less in London Travel Zones 1 and 2 that would be stamp duty exempt for first-time buyers, according to HouseSimple data.

Extending the search area to include Travel Zone 3, the number of stamp duty exempt properties increases to 1,235.

Not surprisingly, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has the fewest stamp duty exempt properties, with just six, including a tiny 113 square foot studio flat, in SW5, Earls Court. The boroughs of Camden and City of Westminster, both have just 18 stamp duty exempt properties currently on the market.

First time buyers should head to the borough of Croydon for the largest number of stamp duty exempt properties on the market today. Croydon has 795 properties

From the 23rd January onwards, Santander mortgage customers will automatically be moved onto a new follow-on rate at the end of their fixed or tracker rate period unless they choose a new product.

Previously, customers were automatically moved onto Santander’s SVR at the end of their product term, which is currently 4.74%.

Santander’s new follow-on rate is a variable rate that tracks at 3.25% above the Bank of England Base Rate, giving a current rate of 3.75%.
The differential of 3.25% is guaranteed for as long as customers remain on the product. The rate payable will track all changes in base rate, either upwards or downwards.
Citizens Advice recently urged the FCA to make all lenders provide clear information to new and existing customers about how much they could lose by rolling onto a standard variable rate.
Its research found that customers who are rolled onto their bank’s standard variable interest rate at the end of a fixed term mortgage deal face an average penalty of £439 a year.