Wealthy buyers rush to beat stamp duty

9th January 2015

Stamp duty reform saw sales of houses in the wealthier areas of London rise to their highest one-day volume for a decade in December. According to research, more homes changed hands in parts of the capital such as Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Belgravia on the day of the Autumn Statement - when the stamp duty reform was announced - than on any other day in the past ten years. The number of deals struck over the 24 hour period, in which buyers saved an accumulative £9.4m in tax, equated to one in six of all prime property central London sales made over the three month period to the end of December. Research shows that sales of homes worth over £5m stayed steady in 2014’s final quarter, while sales of properties worth less than £1m dropped 40% and those worth between £1m and £2m fell 20%.

Financial Times, Page: 3