stamp duty
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Latest property news
‘Don’t blame the parlous state of the property industry on Brexit’
Even intelligent observers of the residential property market, particularly in London, are being fooled into believing that Brexit and its uncertainty is responsible for the slump in activity to date, when the cognoscenti know full well, that it is all down to the ‘fall out’ from Stamp Duty. When Mr Osborne imposed these draconian hikes in this tax in 2014, he thought, somewhat stupidly, that it was the Tory’s version of a Mansion Tax. Like all myopic politicians, he had no idea of the devastating effect it would have on other parts of the economy, such as retail spending and the UK growth rate. Grabbing the Election victory in 2015 from the clutches of Labour was all that mattered at the time and he naturally thought that his strategy of ‘Project Fear’ would win the Referendum vote that would take care of any downfall. How wrong could he be? With, effectively, 15% SDLT rates at the middle to top end of the market, mainly in London, six out of ten potential buyers have been dissuaded from purchasing altogether, leaving just three to four ‘needs driven’ buyers who are prepared to ‘weather the storm’ and commit themselves. Although it’s good news…
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Stamp Duty changes to blame for 14% dip in property sales volumes says Your Move
The changes to Stamp Duty ushered in by George Osborne in 2014 have reduced property sales in London and the South by up to 30%, analysis of Land Registry data has revealed. The number of homes sold each year has plummeted by nearly a third in London and by 20% in the South over the past two years, according to the monthly Your Move/Acadata house price index, although the sales volume reduction has been less acute nationally, at 14%. These figures are also very different across the UK. For example, in the northern regions the volume reduction is just 11% while in Wales the number of homes sold increased by 2%. “The slowdown in London can now also be seen in the South East. Time will tell if the rest of England and Wales remains resilient,” says Oliver Blake (pictured, left), Managing Director of Your Move. His company’s index reveals one silver lining and potentially brighter times ahead for agents. The Christmas/NY shutdown for 2017/18 did not depress sales volumes as much as it usually does during the festive season. “We estimate that the number of housing transactions [during] January 2018 in England and Wales at 64,000, down by 15%…
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Foxtons reports profits down by 43% last year as London market pain continues
Foxtons’ results for 2017 are out and the company says its group turnover, profits and both sales and lettings revenues were down year-on-year but that it has some “strategic initiatives” up its sleeves due to be revealed next week. The company’s profits took the hardest knock. They dropped from £24.6 million in 2016 to £15 million last year, or 43%, as sales within London’s multi-million pound streets remain quiet despite hopes that the exchange rate would persaude more foreigners to buy into the capital’s bricks and mortar. Revenues from its sales operation dropped by nearly 24% year-on-year from £55 million to £42 million, although the crash in volumes within the capital appears to have eased during the final three months of year. But the company says it expects the pain in London to continue. Unlike last week’s Countrywide results which saw disappointing figures for both sides of its core business, Foxtons’ lettings operation continues to deliver at least only moderate revenue reductions – down last year by just 3%. Struggling performance But, despite the weak business performance, CEO Nic Budden appears to be dodging City, investor and board calls for fresh leadership. The company blames its struggling performance on the…
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Slow-moving prime London property market drives £1 billion January ‘sale’
The pain in the prime London property market continues as research reveals that nearly £1 billion has been knocked off the original asking prices of properties for sale within its upmarket streets. Analysis of portal data by Garrington Property Finders shows that the average reductions is 9% or, by the crazy metrics of the capital’s property market, £223,000. Such dramatic reductions (shown in a heat-map form, above) have been created by a slow market, Garrington says, and in six of the seven areas featuring the greatest reductions more than half of properties currently for sale have been on the market for over six months. The most dramatic reductions in prime London property are in the more expensive enclaves including St James and Victoria, where the average reduction is 14.1% or £765,919 and Knightsbridge, where asking prices have been slashed by 12.1% or £927,188 on average. Well-to-do homes in the City, South Kensington, Soho, Covent Garden and Marylebone areas of London have all seen an average reduction of approximately 10%, the research shows. “2017 was not a year for the faint-hearted in London’s prime property market,” Garrington’s Managing Director Jonothan Hopper (pictured, left). “Acute price sensitivity among buyers continues to force…
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Tory’s flagship housing policy will not get Britain building again, say MPs
The government’s recently-launched flagship housing policy to get ‘Britain building’ has been heavily criticised by senior MPs today, including members of May’s own party, and also that the Stamp Duty changes for first time buyers will “distort” the property market. The Treasury Select Committee believes both the abolition of Stamp Duty for properties bought by first-time buyers worth up to £300,000, and the easing of the local council borrowing cap to build homes, do not go far enough and will not achieve the 300,00-a-year new homes a year the government thinks it will. The Committee also says the Stamp Duty will create a ‘cliff edge’ at the £500,000 price point because the new rules enable the duty to be avoided by first time buyers on properties up to that value, although only on the first £300,000. “A house worth £500,000 will attract £5,000 less in SDLT than a house worth £500,001,” the Committee report says. Housing cliff edge “When the previous Government redesigned [Stamp Duty] to remove ‘cliff edges’ faced at certain property values, the then Chancellor said that he had reformed a ‘badly designed system that has distorted our housing market for decades’. “It is regrettable that the abolition…
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Tax changes will drive 46,000 properties out of private rented sector, says NLA
The number of private rented sector landlords intending to reduce the size of their portfolio is at its highest for ten years, it has been claimed, with 46,000 properties due to be taken out of the rental market. The National Landlords Association (NLA) says 20% of its members plan to shrink the number of properties, largely because the recent tax changes for landlords and the looming tenants’ fees ban are “undermining the viability of many landlords’ businesses”. Research firm Capital Economics were commissioned by the NLA to look into the recent tax changes, which reveal that landlords are set to lose £400m from the changes, which come into full effect in 2020. The research also reveals that ‘moderate earner’ landlords will soon pay “significantly higher taxes” than those who earn comparable incomes through other means. Private rented sector The NLA’s CEO Richard Lambert (pictured, left) says the government’s recent tax assault on private landlords is clearly taking its toll and that “the Government needs to look at the impact these policies will have on the PRS”. Landlords have recently had several tax allowances rolled back including an automatic wear and tear allowance and tax relief on mortgage interest payments, and…
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Stamp Duty cut: first-time buyers rejoice, but experts warn of price rises
If Chancellor Philip Hammond thought his Stamp Duty cut for first time buyers announced during yesterday’s Budget would get a unanimous thumbs up, then things definitely aren’t going to plan. Firstly Robert Cote, Chairman of the Office for Budget responsibility, revealed that his organisation thought the tax cut would push up prices by 0.3% and that “the main financial gainers will actually be people who already own properties, rather than first time buyers themselves”. Treasury Chief Secretary has subsequently dismissed the OBR’s prediction and just a “minor increase”. But Mark Hayward, Chief Executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) (pictured, left) also sounded a note of caution saying that although overall it was a positive move, it would increase house prices by pushing up demand for first time buyer properties. “We have seen this in areas where Help to Buy is offered, as it attracts a great deal of interest from first time buyers,” he said. Sarah Beeny, TV presenter and founder of online agent Tepilo (pictured, right), also weighed in, saying she thought the measures would not make a huge difference to the market. “Cutting stamp duty for first time buyers is unlikely to do much –…
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Stamp Duty surcharge hitting landlords hard, says Countrywide
The government’s assault on the buy-to-let market is having the desired effect on landlords, latest research from Countrywide reveals. It has revealed that since the additional three percent Stamp Duty was introduced in April last year 56 per cent of all purchases the company handled where a landlord and first time buyer competed for a property, the first time buyer won. Johnny Morris, research director at Countrywide (pictured, lefgt), said: “Given their inability to spread the higher rate over a longer period, these micro developers have been the buyers hit hardest by the higher rates. Across the country as a whole, their numbers are running at around half the levels they were.” Countrywide undertook the research between April and December last year and says some 9,000 fewer people buying their first home lost out to landlords than during the same period last year. The shift in activity within the market is down to fewer landlords being prepared to commit to a purchase once a bidding war over a property starts as a raft of measures, including extra Stamp Duty, have dampened landlord enthusiasm for purchasing more properties. This includes a severe reduction in the amount of mortgage interest relief they…
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Wales debates what to do with own Stamp Duty in April 2018
The Welsh government is consulting on what to do when it takes control of Stamp Duty with a local version called Welsh Land Transaction Tax, in April next year. Landlord groups including the Welsh arm of the Residential Landlords Association director Douglas Haig (pictured, left) are calling for the 3% levy on buy-to-let and second homes to be scrapped because it will ‘limit supply and push up rents’, it is claimed. The RLA says landlords in Wales have seen the average Stamp Duty bill rise from several hundred pounds to £4,850 since the new rate was introduced across the UK. But the RLA is unlikely to get its way in Wales. A Welsh government spokesman told the BBC that the additional revenue of £58m created by the 3% additional tax will be “essential to the delivery of public services across Wales”. Agents have been represented at the enquiry into the devolved LTT by the NAEA whose MD Mark Hayward (pictured, right) spoke to officials in October last year. He recommended a gradual changeover to allow for a “full discussion and full awareness as to not skew the market”. Welsh Cabinet finance and communities Secretary Mark Drakeford said he wanted to…
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Will Hammond rescue faltering London market?
Haart today revealed that its branches within the M25 recorded an increase in sales activity of just 1.1% month-on-month during September compared to a 75% increase for its branches 100 miles or more outside the capital, painting a worry picture of the struggling London property sales market. “The evidence from our branches is that areas around 100 miles from the capital are where the market is reviving, and this is spreading towards the South East and London – a complete reversal of the traditional ‘London first’ pattern we’ve grown used to,” says Haart CEO Paul Smith (pictured). Land Registry data shows that the number of homes sold in London reduced by two-thirds between March and June this year, before the Brexit vote. The slump has been blamed by agents such as JLL squarely on the recent increases in Stamp Duty and Land Tax (SDLT) at the top end of the market. Homes for sale over the SDLT threshold of £925,000 now make up 34% of all homes for sale in London so the changes have been keenly felt in this price band, plus many agents blame the extra 3% SDLT for hammering the number of landlords buying property there too.…
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