Investors turning to residential property as they anticipate no-deal Brexit
Summary: An independent study which polled over 1,000 UK based investors highlights their forecasts concerning the impact of Brexit and Covid, see graph below:
£1.9bn of stamp duty receipts generated between July and September-HMRC
Summary: Despite the stamp duty holiday for property transactions below the £500,000 threshold, HMRC collects £1.9bn therefrom. This figure represents a 40% decrease in stamp duty revenue compared to the same time last year, but nonetheless also a 27% increase to the previous lockdown quarter. Interestingly, the majority of this stems from home sales as opposed to non-residential or agricultural land transactions. The fact that a majority of house sales are exempt from stamp duty but HRMC has still collected this amount of revenue is a further testament to the high levels of transactions taking place.
1. Falkirk, Scotland 2. Waltham Forrest, London 3. Bridgend, Wales 4. Liverpool, North West 5. Salford, North West 6. Sheffield, Yorkshire 7. Redditch, West Midlands 8. Bromsgrove, West Midlands 9. Walsall, West Midlands 10. Stoke-on-Trent, West Midlands 11. Leeds, Yorkshire 12. Bristol, South West 13. Dartford, South East 14. Nottingham, East Midlands 15. Oldham, North West 16. Gedling, East Midlands 17. South Staffordshire, West Midlands 18. Mansfield, East Midlands 19. Trafford, North West 20. Manchester, North West Clearly, the Northern part of the UK is performing better than the South which is corroborated by the fact, that properties in the South take longer to sell on average. The fastest-selling properties are three-bed, semi-detached properties and those in the £100,00 to £150,000 price range.
First Time Buyers In The UK Move Back In With Their Parents To Save For
Summary: Despite the stamp duty holiday for property transactions below the £500,000 threshold, HRMC collects £1.9bn therefrom. This figure represents a 40% decrease in stamp duty revenue compared to the same time last year, but nonetheless also a 27% increase to the previous lockdown quarter. Interestingly, the majority of this stems from home sales as opposed to non-residential or agricultural land transactions. The fact that a majority of house sales are exempt from stamp duty but HRMC has still collected this amount of revenue is a further testament to the high levels of transactions taking place.
ominent divisions in our society. It posits that a two-track society is developing, which is exacerbated by bank regulation and income inequalities. The negative effects are especially hard on first-time buyers, manual workers, and under 25s.
Banks have removed their high loan-to-value products off the market throughout the pandemic for various reasons: In light of the high covid-caused unemployment and furloughed employees, as well as the stamp duty holiday and back-logged property transactions driving up prices, they fear negative equity risk. Stress testing has shown that in March, when both the job retention scheme and the stamp duty holiday end, property prices will experience a steep decline. The fact that banks have removed their high LTV products, means first time buyers or those refinancing will have to bring in significant amounts of equity.
Furthermore, the stamp duty holiday only helped wealthier buyers as first-time buyers getting houses under £300,000 have already been exempt since 2017. This further reinforces the notion that more liquid consumers have been driving up prices and leading to the exclusion of younger, less wealthy households.
The pandemic has shifted property demand in other aspects too, as property is viewed as a home and workplace instead of an investment, it has led to those who are able to work from home to leave inner cities. Especially London is very vulnerable with high price to earnings ratios and rents falling. Nonetheless, the emphasis is hereby on the ability to work from home, i.e. white-collar workers, manual labourers who cannot move must remain in their cities with their property’s value declining.