Last month’s Autumn Statement contained a number of
revelations, not least for the property industry. Just like last year, stamp
duty took centre stage from a property perspective with Chancellor George
Osborne announcing that there would be a 3% increase in stamp duty for
buy-to-let investors and second home buyers.
This comes hot on the heels of Osborne’s announcement in
July’s Budget that buy-to-let investors would be hit with higher taxes. These
changes to buy-to-let mortgage interest relief are set to be phased in over the
next few years, with this additional increase in stamp duty implemented from
April 2016.
The Chancellor insists that the new system will contribute
approximately £1 billion to the Treasury by 2021. The money will be
subsequently reinvested into the government’s plans to build hundreds of
thousands of new homes as well as its proposals to extend Right to Buy to
housing association tenants.
The other main property-related news to come from the Autumn
Statement was confirmation of the government’s extensive housebuilding
programme. Some £4 billion will be ploughed into 135,000 new Help to Buy:
Shared Ownership homes, in a continuation of the government’s flagship scheme
from their first term.
In addition, £2 billion will be directed towards property
developers to help fund the Starter Homes programme. This initiative will see
the creation of new homes specifically for first-time buyers, who will be
granted a 20% price discount against current market rates.
Lastly, the government says it will put £200 million towards
the funding of 10,000 new homes, homes that tenants will be able to live in for
up to five years paying sub-market rents. These tenants will then have first
dibs on buying the property in future.
But what do all these changes mean for sellers? With
investors and second home buyers thinking twice about buying because of higher
stamp duty, first and second time buyers may be more encouraged by their
prospects of purchasing in a less crowded market. Also, with an emphasis on
starter homes and affordability, first-time buyers are one demographic that is
being heavily targeted by the government.
As a seller in Southampton or Portsmouth, you could
potentially take advantage of this fact by tailoring your home towards first
and second time buyers.
Furthermore, investors will be eager to push through
transactions before the higher stamp duty charges come into play on April 1
next year. This, again, is positive news for sellers. Buyers who are looking to
force through sales quickly are a dream for sellers, because they’re less
likely to stall and play hardball on negotiations. This means house sales going
through much more quickly and the chances of you achieving your asking price or
above much higher.
In Southampton and Portsmouth, we frequently see buyers who
are priced out of the city heading for the South Coast for more affordable
housing. This doesn’t look like changing, despite the measures announced in the
Autumn Statement, so sellers in these areas should be confident of continued
high demand.
Buy-to-let investors in this part of the world will be
looking to act early as well, so sellers should make sure they are well
prepared in terms of their sales strategy, their marketing material and the
presentation of their homes as attractive, clean, homely and welcoming.
At ChimneyPots we’ll do all we can to help you get
your property sold. Check out our tips on selling a home for more info on how we
can do that.
If you would like to get in contact with us, please call 01489 584298.
To find out how much your property could be worth in the current marketplace,
check out our free instant online valuation tool.
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