Demand down by 20 per cent after tax hike

High-end London builder Berkeley said demand fell 20 percent in the first half of their financial year due to a property tax hike and the Brexit vote, the latest sign that real estate in the capital has been hit by the referendum. Berkeley, whose properties include luxury apartment blocks, posted a 34 percent rise in pre-tax profit to 392.7 million pounds ($496 million) in the six months to the end of October and urged government to bring clarity to Britain's Brexit terms. "We put a plan forward to build our homes but if you create conditions that are so uncertain or you create a downturn, then that will really cause us to build less homes," Chief Executive Rob Perrins told. Up-market London property has been particularly hit by a 3 percent increase in stamp duty property tax introduced in April on properties bought to be rented out and second homes, affecting London more than other parts of the country.