Stamp duty rise on top-end homes leads to reduction in sales

A raise to the stamp duty on homes worth more than £2m, announced by the Chancellor in the last Budget, has led to a falling off in sales of these properties.

The Land Registry has produced data revealing that in March, the latest month for which figures are available, sales of properties worth over £2m stood at 124 compared to 205 in March last year. At the time of the announcement estate agents said that the stamp duty hike would badly hit business in the more affluent parts of London, where most houses in this price bracket are situated, and it seems their fears are being realised.

Meanwhile, the Land Registry’s figures also look at the housing picture throughout the country and found there had been a 0.5% increase in house prices, bringing the price of the average property in England and Wales to £161,677. However, as other statistics have also demonstrated, property values are only up in certain regions, most notably London and the south-east, which is tending to distort the national picture.

So, in London prices rose 7.7% annually at the same time as those in Yorkshire and the Humber, the north-east and the north-west showed significant falls. So, any suggestions that the market is in recovery is ended by taking a more detailed look at the situation nationwide which reveals that London and the south-east are bucking the national trend which continues to see house prices falling.
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