A pre-Budget exodus of homeowners has led to a sharp rise in home sales, new data shows.

New figures from online estate agents Zoopla showed there are currently 306,000 homes for sale, representing transactions worth a total of £113 billion.

This is the highest total since autumn 2020, when a stamp duty ‘holiday’ sparked a Covid buying spree.

The total value of the sales pipeline increased by 30% year-on-year, while the number of homes with an agreed sale increased by 62,2650 compared to last year.

It comes as a growing number of buy-to-let landlords abandon the property market after being driven out by red tape and higher taxes.

This has allowed a flood of first-time buyers to snap up former rental properties, encouraged by a recent drop in mortgage rates.

Industry experts said first-time buyers are also rushing to complete deals amid fears Rachel Reeves will make changes to stamp duty relief in this week’s Budget.

Currently, first-time buyers pay no stamp duty on properties worth up to £425,000 and no partial stamp duty on homes costing £625,000.

This means that up to 80% of new owners pay no stamp duty at all.

However, there are fears the Chancellor could cut support for first-time buyers as she attempts to plug what she claims is a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.

If Ms Reeves brings the stamp duty threshold back to its previous level of £300,000, industry experts predict an additional 20% of homeowners will end up paying stamp duty.

Chris McLaughlin, director of Bristol-based Ocean Estate Agents, said: “Buy-to-let activity has declined significantly as smaller or accidental landlords leave the market, influenced by less favorable financial conditions and increasing regulation.

“As a result, much of the new housing stock is now made up of old rental properties. Additionally, closed transactions have increased over the past two months, particularly in the investment property sector, as sellers look to close deals ahead of potential changes anticipated in the upcoming budget.

According to its latest monthly house price index, Zoopla said first-time buyers are now expected to account for 36% of all house sales in 2024, compared to 31% for existing owners.

Richard Donnell, executive director of Zoopla, said: “First-time buyer numbers have recovered as mortgage rates have fallen, but a large deposit is still required to buy. Potential changes to stamp duty relief will only create additional barriers to homeownership for this group who already face significant affordability constraints.

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