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The Government should abolish or reform “eye-watering” stamp duty to stimulate house building and encourage people to buy their own homes, a think tank has said. Stamp duty is the second most unpopular tax in the UK, after inheritance tax, and sees the average buyer in England pay £2,300 in duty when they purchase a property. A report from the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) has called on the Conservatives to reform the levy by either abolishing it or reducing it under a new system that would charge 4% on a property valued above £500,000 and 5% on one with a value above £1m. Robert Colvile, director of the CPS, said: “Stamp duty rates are not just punishing people for moving home, but actively deterring them.”
The Sunday Telegraph (27/10/2019) The Sunday Times (27/10/2019)
The latest figures from the Bank of England have shown that mortgage approvals were up last month as buyers sought to complete purchases before the October 31st deadline mooted for Brexit. Some 65,919 mortgages for house purchases were approved in September, up from a three-month low of 65,681 in August.
City AM (30/10/2019) The Times (30/10/2019)
Figures from the Nationwide show that the price of the average home increased by £800 in the last 12 months. Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said that average house prices had risen by £800 over the past 12 months to £215,368, a sharp slowdown compared with the year to October 2016, when prices jumped by £9,100. “The underlying pace of growth appears to have slowed as a result of weaker global growth and an intensifying of Brexit uncertainty,” he said.
BBC News (29/10/2019) The Times (30/10/2019)
10 Park Drive, the first phase of the 3,600-home Wood Wharf neighbourhood within Canary Wharf’s boundaries on the Isle of Dogs, offers 345 apartments across two towers linked to the water by landscaped gardens and small parks, one of which incorporates a sky terrace with club lounge and amenity space for residents. As well as the sky garden, 10 Park Drive residents can make use of a Third Space gym, swimming pool and spa. Homes in the new development begin at £880,000.
Evening Standard (22/10/2019)
Mount Anvil and Peabody have joined forces to develop Three Waters, a scheme of 47 homes in east London at the meeting point Bow Creek, the River Lea, and Limehouse Cut. The warehouse-style scheme, located in a former industrial area midway between Canary Wharf and Limehouse Cut, offers apartments with projecting balconies, capped off by a raised roof garden, and also include studios for artisans and craftworkers. Residents in the red-brick block benefit from a 24-hour concierge, and a screening room. Prices start at £340,000.
Evening Standard (22/10/2019)
In prime central London the number of home sales over the summer jumped 14% compared with last year, while new instructions rose for the first time in more than a year and are now up 9% on last year. Homes priced at less than £2m saw a 26% surge in sales in the three months to September; in the £2m to £5m bracket the rise was 12%; however in the top end of the market transactions were down 29%. Prices also fell almost 6% in the third quarter compared with last year, according to LonRes, which compiled the figures.
Evening Standard (18/10/2019)