Tag Archives: tsi
Number of Scottish households facing higher moving costs set to rise
More households in Scotland could potentially see the upfront cost of moving rise when the new Land and Building Transaction Tax rates come into force in April 2015, a new analysis suggests. In October, during the draft Scottish Budget, John Swinney, the finance secretary, announced that from April next year Scotland would be scrapping the current stamp duty system and replacing it with a LBTT. At the time the Scottish government said that up to 90% of home buyers would be better off under the new regime but this was before Chancellor George Osborne announced stamp duty reforms last week. Following the LBTT announcement real estate firm Knight Frank looked at the numbers and found that, based on the rates announced and compared to the stamp duty system that was in place across the UK at that time, the new LBTT would favour buyers of properties at £325,000 or less, where less tax would be payable. Sales above £325,000 would incur a higher rate of tax. However, the firm has now re-done the calculations based on the stamp duty changes which will apply in Scotland until the change and the point at which it now becomes more expensive to buy a property under the new LBTT system has fallen from £325,000 to £254,000. Knight Frank says that this means that a lot more households could potentially see the upfront cost of moving rise when the LBTT rates come into force in April. According to figures from the Registers of Scotland, the average price of a detached property is higher than £254,000 in nearly a third of all the local authorities in the country. Under the current system, a house costing £390,000 will incur a stamp duty payment of £9,500, whereas the upfront costs under the new LBTT system for the same property will be 72% higher at £16,300. ‘Prior to the introduction of the new levy in four months’ time, we expect to see an increase in the number of prime sales and homes coming to the market as both buyers and vendors look to move before costs rise,’ said Oliver Knight. ‘Homes worth £250,000 plus accounted for 72% of the total £215 million stamp duty take in Scotland last year. The new regime could hit receipts at this end of the market if there is a slowdown in transactions, and perhaps raise questions among policy makers about the rate structure,’ he added. Continue reading
Major new development announced for London’s Canary Wharf
Plans to create a new waterside community on the eastern edge of Canary Wharf in London with up to 3,610 homes and more than 17,000 jobs have been approved by the Mayor of London. Major new development announced for London’s Canary Wharf Plans to create a new waterside community on the eastern edge of Canary Wharf in London with up to 3,610 homes and more than 17,000 jobs have been approved by the Mayor of London. It is the latest in a series of new developments that Mayor Boris Johnson hopes will help tackle the severe shortage of homes in the capital city, especially affordable homes. The new development, on land formerly known as Wood Wharf, will transform a vast 13.6 hectare site that has been semi derelict and underused for decades. In addition to new housing, including affordable housing options, the scheme will include a variety of business and retail units, hotel, leisure facilities, a new primary school and a doctor's surgery. There will also be up to 35,000 square meters of retail floor space, a community centre and a network of parks and public squares and the centrepiece will be a 57 storey cylindrical residential skyscraper facing the waters of South Dock, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the Swiss architects behind the Tate Modern and the Bird's Nest Olympic stadium in Beijing. Developer Canary Wharf Group will also be contributing in excess of £60 million towards Crossrail and an additional £27.5 million for other infrastructure needs. This will include over £10 million for local transport improvements, some of which will be used to improve the nearby Preston's Road roundabout. At least 25% of the new homes will be affordable but a review mechanism has been put in place that could see the number of affordable homes rise to 40% and 80% of the affordable homes will be affordable rent and the remainder will be intermediate housing. ‘This vast development will transform a currently derelict brownfield site beyond all comprehension into a thriving new community with thousands of new homes and jobs. This is exactly the kind of scheme that we need to accommodate London's booming population that is set to break through the nine million mark within the next decade,’ said Johnson. According to Sir George Iacobescu, chairman and chief executive officer of Canary Wharf, the new development will reinforce Canary Wharf's position into the future as one of the most exciting and vibrant places to live and work in London. ‘The new phase of Canary Wharf will include up to 3,610 new homes, and 1.9m square feet of office buildings designed to accommodate the fast growing technology media and telecoms sector as well as financial and professional services firms,’ he explained. ‘It will offer high street retail units to complement Canary Wharf's existing retail offer, as well as affordable housing on site. It will also include substantial new green parks and dockside walks, a library, a large GP surgery, a school for 420 children, a community sports hall… Continue reading
UK house prices predicted to rise by 6% in first quarter of 2015
UK house prices are predicted to rise by up to 6% in the first quarter of 2015 but then start slowing as the May general election approaches, according to one forecast. Prices could even start to drop by around 2% in the last half of the year and it could be a worse scenario if the current opposition Labour party wins, says the prediction report from low cost online estate agents Hatched. Hatched also predicts growth to continue at somewhere around 4% to 5% in 2015, whilst warning home owners to be prepared for a rocky spell around April, May and June, with the uncertainty that a general election inevitably brings. According to Adam Day, the firm’s managing director, a Labour victory in May could potentially have a hugely disruptive effect on the property market as the party is known for surprising voters with unexpected measures and excessive red tape. He pointed out that the last Labour win led to the introduction of Home Information Packs which then had to be scrapped. ‘The way they were introduced wasn't thought through. The government announced the specific date that HIPs were to become a legal requirement, which led to hundreds of thousands of home owners rushing to put their house on the market in an attempt to avoid the cost and bureaucracy associated with their production,’ he explained. ‘It was this slapdash strategy, which consequently led to an oversupply of properties that brought on the beginnings of the crash in 2008,’ he added. Interest rates are also expected to rise in 2015, although for many home owners it will not have a huge impact. But it is likely to affect first time buyers who tend to spend a higher percentage of their income on home costs. However, Hatched expects interest rate rises to be a contributor to the slowdown for the housing market in the final half of the year. Day also expects there to be a significant reduction in high street agents. ‘Many agents will have over staffed themselves this year because it has been so busy, so when the property market does begin to slow in the middle of the year, they will have over extended themselves,’ he suggested. He believes that 2015 will see online estate agencies continue to prosper and traditional agents who decide to join the online revolution and thus respond to customer demand by driving efficiencies with the aim of lowering their fees, should also enjoy success and stand out in a market which is likely to get tougher as the year progresses. Continue reading
