Tag Archives: real estate
Research suggests buy to let landlord confidence in the UK is low
Recent and forthcoming changes to tax for buy to let landlords in the UK seems to have dented confidence with new pieces of research showing many are set to re-evaluate their situation and put new strategies in place. One new report reveals that just one in five landlords believe there is still money to be made in the buy to let market even although many purchased buy to let property in the last three months to beat the Chancellor's stamp duty reforms. The study conducted by online letting agent PropertyLetByUs, shows that 43% of landlords are considering putting their properties into a limited company to beat the tax rises. Some 5% of landlords have sold buy to let property because of the increased tax burden and 6% plan to reduce their property portfolio and invest their capital in stocks and shares. However, despite all the rhetoric about buy to let profits, only one in six landlords are seeing a reduction in their profits and many of them appear to have strategies in place to off-set the tax rises such as opting for incorporation, but they are also set to increase rents. The surge in landlords investing in buy to let property in the first quarter of 2016 has created a bubble of new rental properties in some parts of the UK, according to a separte report from research consultants BDRC Continental. It suggests that in the longer term, it is likely that the tax changes will limit the supply of rental property and discourage potential new landlords from investing in the buy let market. The good news is that tenant demand will continue to rise, as unaffordable house prices push home owning out of reach for many people. Indeed, according to BDRC Continental’s latest quarterly Landlord’s Panel research report confidence is at the lowest level since the research began almost a decade ago. ‘There are few happy ever after tales here. Many private landlords in Britain are really concerned about the impact of the 2015 Budget when tax relief on private rental properties was cut, and given the housing shortage, the potential knock-on effect on renters and the supply of rental homes is something that we all need to care about,’ said Mark Long, director at BDRC Continental. The report says that confidence in three key metrics has seen the biggest falls year on year; that’s business expectations for the UK Private Rental Sector, UK Financial Markets and Own Letting Business. The majority of landlords, 59%,believe that the 2015 Budget will decrease their profitability Some 81% of private landlords with 20 plus properties believe that they will experience a decrease in profitability, twice as many as single property landlords. Landlords with buy to let mortgages feel hardest hit. Just 39% of those with a buy to let mortgage rate their short term prospects as good or very good, compared to 48% of landlords who are not leveraged. The research also… Continue reading
House prices in key cities growing faster than UK as a whole
House prices growth in key cities in the UK was 4.2% higher in the first quarter of this year, the highest for 12 years, the latest index shows. The normal seasonal upturn in demand was boosted by investors rushing to beat the stamp duty deadline in April which saw a 3% rate on buy to let properties and second homes, according to the cities house price index from Hometrack. It suggests that tougher lending criteria and tax changes are likely to push investors into higher yielding, lower priced markets, and city level house price growth is expected to moderate in the second quarter of the year. Overall the annual growth for the 20 city house price index is running at 10.8%, ahead of 8.7% across the UK as a whole, the data also shows. Liverpool recorded the fastest increase in the first quarter of the year but the index report explains that this was due to priced rising off a low base. But it does mean that Liverpool is closing the gap to other major cities such as Manchester and Leeds where house price growth is running at over 7% per annum, the highest year on year growth since 2007. ‘The acceleration in growth in the last quarter has, in part, been down to stronger demand from investors, especially those searching for higher yielding property. Tougher lending criteria for buy to let investors and changes to tax relief on mortgage interest payments are likely to push investors to search for higher yielding property which means more focus of investor demand in lower value cities, with lower buying costs, and further support for house price growth,’ the report says. ‘With the rush to beat the stamp duty deadline now over, the question is how weaker investor demand will impact house price inflation in the second quarter of 2016. This at a time when home buyers start to consider the implications of the European Union referendum for the economy and mortgage rates,’ it points out. ‘We believe house prices will continue to rise but a moderation in investor demand and greater caution in the run up to the EU vote will limit further acceleration in house prices. We expect the rate of house price growth to slow more rapidly in high value, low yielding cities such as London where house prices will be more responsive to weaker investor demand,’ it adds. Continue reading
New property tax in Scotland raises less than expected on residential properties
Revenue from the Land and Building Transaction Tax (LBTT) in Scotland failed to reach forecasts for residential sales in the 2015/2016 financial year. The Scottish Government has hoped to raise £235 million but the published figures show it was £201 million, some £34 million below expected and 26% below the £270 million collected the year before. However this fall is likely to have been exacerbated by property market activity brought forward at the end of 2014/2015 as buyers raced to beat the new LBTT when it was introduced in April 2015. LBTT replaced stamp duty on all residential purchases in Scotland and the new rates make it more expensive to purchase property with a value above £333,000 compared to the rest of England and Wales. This is especially the case in the prime market where costs are as much as 90% higher than under the previous system. ‘While the introduction of LBTT in April 2015 resulted in a welcome reduction in purchase costs for a significant number of home buyers in Scotland, the flipside of this was a substantial increase in taxes for those at the top end of the market,’ said Oliver Knight, a senior analyst with Knight Frank Residential Research. ‘Last year, we raised concerns that levying these rates for higher value homes could reduce transaction volumes and ultimately have a negative impact on tax receipts. Policymakers may need to consider allowing some room for manoeuvre on LBTT rates if they find that they continue to impact on activity at this end of the market, and if they want to hit next year’s forecast of £295 million in revenue,’ he added. He explained that one reason for the shortfall in forecast versus actual revenue in 2015/2016 has been the effect of forestalling whereby some transactions were completed earlier than they otherwise would have been to ensure they were assessed under the old SDLT regime. The latest available data from the Registers of Scotland shows that 62% of all residential sales above £1 million in Scotland in 2015 occurred in the first three months of the year, prior to the introduction of the levy. However the amount for commercial property was higher than expected. The Scottish Government had expected to raise £146 million on non-residential property but actually raised £214.2 million, some £68.2 million more than predicted. Blair Stewart, partner in Strutt & Parker's Edinburgh office, pointed out that the LBTT residential shortfall was significant and highlights a weakness in relying on too narrow a band of high value sales. ‘While the commercial LBTT tax revenues came to the rescue this year, the forecast for the next five years is steadily more dependent on high value sales. Equally, the end of the year was distorted because significant numbers of people were buying properties before the LBTT surcharge kicked in. This will not be the case in future years,’ he said. ‘While the whole housing market is improving in terms of sales volumes the… Continue reading
