Thursday, Aug 28, 2008
Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA threatens to throw his toys out of the pram
FT: Indecision on Stamp Duty impacting property market: NAEA
Consumer confidence in the property market is being hampered by the government's indecision on a possible Stamp Duty holiday. A second survey of members of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) revealed 98 per cent of estate agents now believe consumer confidence has been further damaged by the hold-up.
This is up from the previous survey, when 92 per cent said the indecision had increased consumers concerns. The NAEA said the wait was causing property sales to fall through, with 56 per cent of agents claiming to have lost at least one sale since the first talk of a Stamp Duty holiday was made.
Posted by jack c @ 11:06 AM (1705 views) Add Comment
23 Comments
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1. jackas said...
Stamp duty percentages pale into insignificance compared to just a few weeks worth of current price drops.
Also - most of the builders ar offering to pay stamp duty on new builds if it needs paying.
I don't understand why this is such a big deal.
2. str 2007 said...
If you look at the Nationwide 1/4 figures you can see a significant pick up from 4.4% falls to only 4.3% falls therefore the market is clearly improving and the stamp duty indecision is not having a negative effect on the market !
3. george monsoon said...
What a load of *&%@#
the market has already fallen enough to make up the difference stamp duty would account for.
4. Pundit said...
The HPC is a symptom of a far greater economic malaise afflicting the UK (and elsewhere) – it is the fading pulse of the dying patient. Far better too turn the life support systems off now and let the market find its own level. Then we can have the wake, grieve and get on with life – hopefully the politicos will have learned economic profligacy is not a good idea.
Surly, it is in the interests of EA’s and many other VI’s for the market to reach the bottom quickly – houses will be affordable and might start selling again!
5. maddison said...
I disagree. The wiff of being able to get out of an UPFRONT cost of thousands of pounds would certainly make me pause.
6. Sfletch said...
I agree with maddison. If I were moving I could be looking at something like £20k in stamp duty. As a percentage it's not massive. As a one off moving cost, that I could maybe save by waiting a week it's a MASSIVE figure. Of course you'd wait a week. Or two.
Unfortunately the inept(?) government is still sitting on the fence.
An alternative view of course is that it's carefully orchestrated to make the downturn swift so that things are picking up by the time we're thinking about an election.
7. Prof said...
Me too maddison !
I`d pause, wait for the freeze on stamp duty, then pause for a further 25% reduction in asking prices.
Blame stamp duty, blame those mean banks for not dishing out cheap money, blame the weather, blame the position of Jupiter in the zodiac, blame anything but stupid asking prices.
8. plato said...
Another spinning diversion. Oh! How my head is spinning! Stamp Duty will go down with House Prices and it makes not a jot of difference in the big picture. Just a temporary 'it looks good' factor.
At an average depreciation of 1K a week and continuing, (That's about 36 months to ZERO) The question is : Where is the bottom in this time scale?
They will actually have to raise SD and therein lies the irony. To save face government will find another stealthy tax to cover the shortfall.They cannot reduce taxes.The whole country is in serious debt. The whole country cannot afford more taxes though!
This is an ever increasing debt cycle that requires a complete collapse and a new sytem to be born. The quicker this happens the better for all.
9. denzil said...
Somebody commented at the time that the stamp duty ruse was intentional by the Govt. to accelerate the crash. That comment was disregarded but if they (Govt.) had one eye on the next election and when recovery may occur then maybe the Govt. caused disarray by the decision on stamp duty. Yes this may be mad but consider whether Caroline Flint's bearish piece of paper regarding falls was held up for the press to photograph.
Whether intentional or not the Govt. are doing a great job of killing property market sentiment.
10. george monsoon said...
I am waiting for the first "1k" flats for sale in the tabloids... can't be far away now..
11. techieman said...
I am looking forward to the measures the government are going to take to help homeowners :-). Cant be too long now.
12. maddison said...
I cant wait to see what the incompetents come up with. When is the pre budget report anyone?
13. str 2007 said...
Sfletch
''An alternative view of course is that it's carefully orchestrated to make the downturn swift so that things are picking up by the time we're thinking about an election.''
I got through to someone then !
14. jack c said...
greenbay and the other bulls are awfully quiet these days
15. techieman said...
Actually I dont think they are that astute str2007. More likely they will introduce measures that will seem on the face to be a support, the bulls will come back and say "we told you the government wouldnt let the market collapse" and then..... answers on a postcard..
16. jack c said...
@techieman - from previous debates on here greenbay was adamant that the Gov would ultimately step in to stop any collapse - personally I'm not certain what measures they could introduce at this stage which would be effective. I still favour allowing the market to find its own level.
17. techieman said...
Hey Jack - yes you are right re Greenbay - RIP. I do think they will do something that will slow the pace of falls down, however i think the downtrend will re-establish itself after. The pace of falls slowing may give the VIs the opportunity to propose we are at the begining of the end, but my view is that IF they do get support its more likely to be the end of the begining.
18. jack c said...
@techieman - pretty much agree with your thoughts and to add to this the current HPC is (IMO) in it's infancy - unemployment is lagging at the moment however more than one in 10 British workers fear they will lose their job in the next year because of the economy, the TUC reported today. I see any Gov intervention as futile at this stage.
19. Jamesw said...
Pity the standard of debate on this forum is so moronic (for the most part). This is a serious issue for people. But I do agree that Stamp Duty is a total red herring. The best proposal I have read so far if the Govn really wanted to do something about demand for residential property is the one put forward by BrightSale. They said remove the exemption on SIPPs investing in residential property. If this was done on 1st October when the SIPP rules change to include protected rights pensions this could free up £100 billion for investment. Now that could REALLY change sentiment in the marketplace ... Shame the NAEA can't support proper proposals rather than bleating 'something must be done'.
20. nooneo said...
I think str 2007 said it first, they are trying to bottom out the crash as fast as possible in the hope the market may move before the General Election in May 2010. I now have no reason to doubt that synposis!
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