U.K Housing Boom Eclipses Tax Savings for Buyers
Average house prices in the U.K. hit a record 269,945 pounds in September as buyers rushed to tie up deals before a property tax cut came to an end. Prices have soared by 15% -- more than 35,000 pounds ($48,000) -- since Chancellor Rishi Sunak introduced a tax waiver in July 2020 in an effort to kick-start the housing market after the U.K.’s first lockdown, Land Registry figures show. That dwarfs the 2,500 pounds saving in stamp duty, a levy on purchases that the average buyer would have benefited from in September. Earlier in the plan, purchasers of the most expensive homes could save as much as 15,000 pounds. The stamp-duty holiday is not the only factor that has driven the boom. Arguably more significant is a “race for space” -- demand for larger properties away from city centers among people for whom homeworking is now the new normal. The generosity of the tax break was scaled back in July in England and Northern Ireland, and on Oct. 1 thresholds reverted to where they were prior to July last year. The holiday had already ended in Scotland and Wales.
Tags : INTERNATIONAL property tax Stamp Duty housing market Tax Waiver Land Registry Expensive Homes Tax Savings