Coalition fails to shake-up UK’s antiquated planning rules March 27, 2012 IT was the government’s great opportunity to rip up red tape and make Britain an easier place in which to conduct business. For a while, the coalition had me convinced: I thought they would really do something about the UK’s obsolete planning rules, which were first dreamt up by the post-war socialist Clement Attlee government [...]
London will be hit hardest by levy increase March 21, 2012 IN YESTERDAY’S budget, chancellor George Osborne increased the stamp duty land tax rate to 7 per cent for residential properties over £2m as well as introducing a stamp duty land tax of 15 per cent for residential properties worth more than £2m purchased by companies and other entities. As Paul Emery, PwC tax director, points [...]
THE LONDON BAROMETER March 8, 2012 SALES DIRECTOR OF DOUGLAS & GORDON In D&G land, February saw the lowest levels of available properties since December 2009 as a result of consumer confidence remaining low, a lack of job security and a knock on affect from economic turmoil in Europe, whilst the number of prospective buyers registering is still at an all-time [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 7, 2012 Caught in the net [Re: A so-called mansion tax will not achieve fairness, yesterday] Aside from the obvious problems in administering a “mansion tax”, it’s clear that it’s not solely super-rich buyers who’d bear the brunt of an annual property levy, but long-term homeowners who may not be cash-rich but simply live in areas where house [...]
A so-called mansion tax will not achieve fairness and the revenue gain will be modest March 6, 2012 LIBERAL Democrats are pushing for a mansion tax, in the form of an annual levy on houses worth over £2m. They claim this would raise significant funds for the Treasury, would “target” the super-rich and would be more economically efficient than taxing people’s incomes. It’s depressing that some consider it the function of the tax [...]
Taxing homes more isn’t the answer March 4, 2012 HERE is my factoid of the day: Italians have just replaced Russians as the top foreign buyers of prime central London properties, ending years of oligarch dominance, according to Knight Frank. The only reason the Greeks aren’t ranked higher is that there are too few of them. Analysts interested in predicting financial crises and unrest [...]
How to avoid an Olympian hassle February 16, 2012 Q. How much can I expect to earn from letting out my property for the Olympics? A. The exact figure would need to be determined on evaluating the property and assessing both the local area and transport links to Olympic venues, however, due to the inflation of hotel prices (most charging up to three times [...]
LUCY MORTON, LETTINGS, WA ELLIS | OLYMPICS LETS ARE A BAD IDEA February 16, 2012 “We are now receiving enquiries in their droves about lettings over the Olympic period. Interestingly, 90 per cent of these enquiries are coming from landlords, which tells a story in itself. At the moment, there is very limited demand from tenants. “I offer a word of caution to investor landlords who are considering losing their [...]
PROPERTY NEWS February 9, 2012 REPOSSESSIONS TO RISE British mortgage repossessions hit their lowest since 2007 last year but are expected to rise in 2012 due to increasing unemployment, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said yesterday. The CML said the number of home repossessions came in at 8,500 between October and December, down from 9,300 in the previous three-month [...]
Retired homeowners are losing billions in weak property market February 6, 2012 RETIRED homeowners are losing out from housing market volatility, according to research published yesterday by Key Retirement Solutions (KRS). Over-65s own an estimated £749.45bn worth of property outright, and lost £7.185bn in the last three months as the housing market stalled – equivalent to £1,236 each. The market’s continuing poor performance means pensioners are down [...]