Taylor Scott International News
The UK housing market saw an unseasonal rise in demand in December with anecdotal evidence suggesting this is due to an increase in buy to let investors. An extra 3% stamp duty levy due to come into force in April which will affect buy to let property and second homes could be behind the lift in demand, says the latest monthly residential report from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). It says that demand for properties reached a three month high in December and the month saw the first rise in new instructions since the beginning of 2015 with anecdotal evidence pointing to a jump in buy to let interest leading this demand. Since the Chancellor George Osborne announced the extra stamp duty levy in his Autumn Statement last November some 16% more chartered surveyors reported a rise in new buyer enquiries. ‘The housing market has experienced an unusually buoyant December. Those in the industry have been speculating that this is the result of the Chancellor’s announcement last November,’ said RICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn. ‘Potential buy to let investors are looking to pick up properties before the increased stamp duty levy comes into force next April. If that is the case, then we can expect to see the housing market heating up further over the next few months,’ he explained. The belief that demand was fuelled by announcements included in the Autumn Statement was further supported by qualitative responses to the survey. ‘December was busier than normal as stamp duty changes have brought buyer back to the market, ahead of April,’ said chartered surveyor Robert Green of Chelsea based estate agent John D Wood & Co. While James McKillop of Knight Frank in London said: ‘The 3% Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) proposal in the Autumn Statement has led to more buyers firming up their intention to buy additional residences in my region before April 01’. The RICS report also says that house prices in London, the South East and East Anglia look set to rise by a further 5% per annum in each of the next five years, compared to a UK average of 4.5%, despite offering the poorest value for money in the UK. Some 62% of respondents said that homes in the South East were either expensive or very expensive given the relative benefits they offered, with 57% of contributors in the capital taking the same view. By way of contrast, 100% of Northern Irish respondents and 92% from the North of England believe that homes in their areas offer fair value for money. A net balance of 50% of respondents reported that UK house prices had risen since November, with East Anglia and the South East of England witnessing the strongest growth. Robert Grigg, managing director of Property Finance at Hampshire Trust Bank, said that the report highlights that 2015 was yet another year in which becoming a home owner was out of reach for many. ‘The government’s Help… Taylor Scott International
Taylor Scott International, Taylor Scott
