Property Newsletter 28th Oct 2024

REEVES TO LEAVE CAPITAL GAINS TAX ON PROPERTY UNTOUCHED, REPORTS SAY

Reports say that Rachel Reeves will not change the rate of capital gains tax on the sale of second homes in the budget amid concerns about the impact on the property market. Ministers have decided to leave CGT levied on the sale of second homes and buy-to-let properties untouched because of concerns that increasing it would cost money, the Times reported. In the last budget, the Conservatives cut the top rate of CGT for property from 28% to 24%. The Office for Budget Responsibility said at the time the cut would raise nearly ￡700m by increasing the number of property sales and resulting income from stamp duty. Now ministers are concerned that putting up the rate again would cost the Treasury money by slowing property sales, the Guardian understands.

?Source: The Guardian

?

STRONG ACTIVITY BUT MUTED AUTUMN PRICE BOUNCE AS BUYER CHOICE BUILDS

The average price of property coming to the market for sale rises by 0.3% this month (+￡1,199) to ￡371,958. This is a much lower monthly increase in new seller asking prices than is typical at this time of year, with them long-term average October rise being +1.3%. This much more muted than usual Autumn price bounce comes as buyer choice increases to a level not seen for ten years, putting downward pressure on price growth. With a greater choice of properties to consider, buyers are making use of their increased negotiating power, helping to keep price rises subdued. However, market activity remains strong despite some uncertainty created by the upcoming Autumn Budget. This month’s limited price growth is also in part down to some sellers heeding agents’ and Rightmove’s caution to price attractively to find a buyer, particularly with seller competition rising, helping to keep activity moving. Affordability remains stretched, limiting buyers’ purchasing power, but there are encouraging signs of this improving next year:

?

?Source: House Price Index Rightmove

?LANDLORDS ARE WORKING PEOPLE, AND THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO KNOW THAT

Keir Starmer’s suggestion that landlords are not ‘working people’ is mistaken, says NRLA Chief Executive Ben Beadle. In an interview this week Sir Keir Starmer told Sky News he would not consider someone who made income from property ‘a working person’. Like you I was shocked. Like you, I was incensed. We just need to look at the Government’s own statistics to see why. Official data shows that 30 per cent of landlords are employed full-time, with a further 10 per cent working part-time; 28 per cent are self-employed in some way, while 35 per cent are retired and are likely to rely on their rental income for their pension. It couldn’t be more categoric. We are working. We are also not the ‘fat cats’ some elements of the media would have us believe, with almost 70% basic rate taxpayers. Read that figure again. 70%. In my role as chief executive of the NRLA, I travel the length and breadth of England and Wales, meeting our members and hearing your stories.

?

Source NRLA