Chancellor
-
Latest property news
Mortgage chief calls stamp duty hike ‘political stunt’
George Osborne’s decision to raise stamp duty for buy-to-let landlords has been dismissed as a “political stunt” by Managing Director of Vere Mortgages, part of deVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations. The Chancellor announced an additional 3 per cent stamp duty on second homes and buy-to-let properties in his Autumn Statement, adding thousands of pounds in tax. A property worth £275,000 will currently cost £3,750 in stamp duty but will cost £10,800 from next April when the tax rise comes into play. Buy-to-let is increasing and is currently at the highest level since before the financial crash in 2008. Rather than dampen the buy-to-let market and free up much needed properties for first-time buyers, Mike Coady (left), who heads deVere Mortgages, believes that the clampdown on buy-to-let investors will be “ineffective for its purported aims” of raising cash to help first-time buyers and paying for more affordable housing. Describing the tax measure as “something of a political stunt”, Coady thinks that the Government’s desire to be seen to be acting on this “emotive and topical issue” by appealing to the “politics of envy” with buy-to-let landlords and second homeowner the targets, will not just “trigger…
Read More » -
Housing Market
Significant increase in new housing consents
There has been a sharp rise in the number of housing permissions by local authorities in the last year, according to new data published by the Home Builders’ Federation (HBF) and Glenigan. The latest HBF/Glenigan Housing Pipeline report reveals that permissions in principle for over 195,000 new homes in England were granted in 2014, up 12 per cent on the previous year and 39 per cent on 2012. The volume of permissions for private homes was up 23 per cent. Over the past 18 months, house building activity has increased significantly, with figures released last month showing the number of new homes started in 2014 was up 36 per cent on 2012. As demand for new homes continues to increase, due to improved consumer confidence and the Help to Buy equity loan scheme, existing housing sites are getting built out quicker, and so builders are looking to get on to more new sites more quickly than before, the report said. “Over the past 18 months, demand for new homes, largely driven by the Help to Buy equity loan scheme has increased markedly,” said Stewart Baseley (left), Executive Chairman of the HBF. “Housebuilders have responded by significantly increasing house building activity.”…
Read More » -
Latest property news
Stamp Duty Reform
Every buyer, seller and estate agent in the land would have liked to see Stamp Duty abolished but we all knew that wouldn’t happen. However, George Osborne, The Chancellor of the Exchequer, dealt a masterstroke to the Opposition party with his dramatic – and immediate – Stamp Duty reform. Thousands of pounds saved in Stamp Duty payments – for 98 per cent of all homebuyers – will give potential buyers a real impetus to move. It’s another way of clobbering the rich to butter up Middle England voters.” This was a carefully constructed bomb among a whole salvo of missiles aimed at the Labour Party’s election campaign. It will certainly catch the votes of most estate agents when it comes to the crunch next May. Vote-catching aside, this was a brave – and clever – way of reforming tax which removes the need for a Mansion Tax, while the wealthy (those able to afford more than £937,000 for a home) can console themselves that it is a one-off payment on purchase, rather than an additional annual tax. Changes in a nutshell Old regime: Stamp Duty applies to all properties over £125,000. It was calculated in bands and even if the…
Read More »
