Foxtons CEO on the 2026 homebuying reforms: a welcome step, but what is still missing?

The government has set out proposals to make buying and selling a home faster, including upfront sales packs for sellers and mandatory qualifications for estate agents. As the agency that navigates this process for thousands of buyers and sellers every year, we think the view from inside it is worth adding. Here is Foxtons CEO Guy Gittins with our response.

"We welcome the government's ambition to speed up the homebuying process. Transaction times have slowed enormously in recent years, and the frustration felt by buyers, sellers and agents is very real, so meaningful reform is overdue. We are also supporters of mandatory qualifications for estate agents, which will raise standards and be good for consumers and the industry alike. "However, it is worth remembering that we have been down this road before. The Home Information Packs introduced in 2007 were abandoned within a few years. Many of the worst delays are caused by third parties: waiting for local authority searches, management information, and replies to legal enquiries. These are systemic issues that sales packs alone may struggle to resolve. The upfront cost for sellers will also need careful consideration to avoid unintended delays in bringing homes to market. "If the goal is to get more people moving into homes that suit their needs, Stamp Duty remains the single biggest barrier across all price ranges. We would encourage the government to keep that firmly on the agenda alongside these welcome reforms." Guy Gittins Chief Executive Officer, Foxtons

Reform the process, and address the cost

There is a lot to like in what has been proposed. A faster, more transparent process would spare buyers and sellers months of uncertainty, and holding agents to a recognised standard is something we have long argued for. The caution is simply that packs and paperwork tackle the symptoms rather than one of the root causes, and history gives us a warning worth heeding before sellers are asked to carry new upfront costs.

The upfront cost of buying a home in London

Ask anyone who has tried to move recently what stopped them, and the answer is rarely the conveyancing. It is the cheque they have to write to the government before they have unpacked a single box. Stamp Duty sits on top of the deposit and every other cost of moving, and it climbs steeply through exactly the price brackets most London families are buying in.

To show what that means in practice, here is the cash a buyer needs upfront at a series of London price points: the deposit and the Stamp Duty together. Even at £400,000, that is £50,000 to find before the keys change hands, and the tax grows faster than the deposit the higher you climb. It is the two costs together that put a move out of reach.

Stamp Duty: the final hurdle to homeownership The cash a buyer needs upfront on completion: a 10% deposit plus Stamp Duty, side by side.

£400,000 home  £50,000 needed upfront Deposit £40,000    Stamp Duty £10,000 £600,000 home  £80,000 needed upfront Deposit £60,000    Stamp Duty £20,000 £750,000 home  £102,500 needed upfront Deposit £75,000    Stamp Duty £27,500 £1,000,000 home  £143,750 needed upfront Deposit £100,000    Stamp Duty £43,750 £1,500,000 home  £243,750 needed upfront Deposit £150,000    Stamp Duty £93,750

Stamp Duty Land Tax for a standard residential purchase (not a first-time buyer or additional property) in England, under the rates in effect from 1 April 2025. The deposit shown is 10% of the purchase price, a common minimum for London buyers; many save more. Stamp Duty and the deposit are both due on completion. Source: HMRC.

None of this is an argument against the reforms on the table. Faster transactions and better-qualified agents would be genuinely good for the people we serve. However, it is important to look at the whole picture. If the aim is to get the country moving, the tax that meets buyers at the door deserves a place in the conversation.

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