We all know that a number of years ago, the former Chancellor Osborne hiked Stamp Duty (SDLT) rates for properties above £900,000 and this has now caused a DIY recession in the London Residential Property Market, such that turnover of sales is down by 70% and values by about 25% from the former highs of 2014.
In some sectors the market is stodgy and illiquid. What did Osborne expect?
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The number of properties sold in the middle to higher brackets have fallen by some 40% resulting in Stamp Duty, derived from sales above £1.5million from April to November last year, being down by £440million. How many hospitals and schools could this provide?
Isn’t it ironic, that the main plank of the former Chancellor Osborne’s fiscal discipline was to produce a Budget surplus in 2020, which has now been revised by Mr. Hammond, to approximately £20bn and 50% of this, according to the OBR, will be due to lower Stamp Duty Receipts; which was Osborne’s folly.
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The love affair between the ‘great British public’ and the Residential Property Market is very enduring and whilst it has always been a prevalent feature of this country, Margaret Thatcher spearheaded the home owning revolution with her reforms and sales of council houses in the 80s.
Anyone who participated in buying their own home, for say £35,000 at the time, would now be looking at an asset value of circa £600,000. As a result, not only does a home provide a sanctuary for the family, but also could be a quasi pension for old age, should the property be sold and the owners downsize.
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