London properties

Stamp duty on properties worth more than £1.5m increased to 12 per cent

London Property in excess of £1.5m will have 12 per cent stamp duty
London Property in excess of £1.5m will have 12 per cent stamp duty

lonpropLondon propLondon properties

The most expensive London Properties have gone into reverse after  the stamp duty rise, Properties worth £2m -33m  have fallen by 1 per cent in the year to August, while properties worth less than £5m are down 5 percent According to Savills.

The Labour faring badly in the election, their threat to introduce Mansion tax was  removed. However, the Chancellor George Osborne, had already increased the rate of stamp duty on properties worth more than £1.5m to 12 per cent, and so a £5m property you have to pay a stamp duty of £500,000.

A lot of buyers from abroad are coming to Britain and snapping off properties as for them the charges are not that ridiculous compared to what they pay at home.

The decline in the house price activity especially in London will hit revenue from stamp  duty and may prompt the chancellor to think again. In Scotland after a similar rise in stamp duty the revenue fell by £7m in April 2015 compared with £18m  previous period.

The markets does not have a   capacity  to absorb the latest rise in stamp duty, at least for the time being, sellers will have to factor in the stamp duty costs borne by the buyers.