Telegraph - Stamp duty reforms are damaging property market

[bubbleturbo]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/14/stamp-duty-reforms-are-damaging-property-market-and-cutting-tax/

Quote

Stamp duty reforms have slowed the housing market and raised half as much money as the Treasury predicted, it has emerged, amid calls for Philip Hammond to review the tax.

The Exchequer received £370 million less in stamp duty than the £700 million it expected following major changes made by George Osborne, new analysis shows.

Experts also said it led to a steep decline in property sales and has cost the economy nearly £1 billion because of a reduction in the number of people selling homes and a flow-on reduction in demand for services such as removals or renovations.  

The analysis by Oxford Economics also found that the changes to the stamp duty system had led to 1,950 fewer sales of properties worth more than £1 million and, indirectly, to the loss of 14,000 jobs.

What a crock of utter shite. Why do the Telegraph persist with such ridiculous campaigns?

There are so many things that need to be looked at in this country right now, do these idiots really think people finding it a bit harder to buy £1M + homes is worth campaigning for?

Maybe they should employ some journalists who have enough brain power to compute the root cause of this problem - rampant HPI due to lax lending and idiots like Carnage slashing interest rates forever is the root cause of many problems we face in this country now.

Edited November 15, 2016 by bubbleturbo

[eek]

3 minutes ago, bubbleturbo said:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/14/stamp-duty-reforms-are-damaging-property-market-and-cutting-tax/

 

does the article provide emperical evidence or a link to such evidence or is it just anecdotal?

I suspect its the latter and its forgetting all the changes (Brexit, the job market, banks willingness to lend) that may be making people very unwilling to commit to borrowing more money....

Edited November 15, 2016 by eek

[TheCountOfNowhere]

What housing market ?  A property ponzi or a mega bubble sure, but I see no market

[Si1]

Damaging?

 

Wibble

[Riedquat]

I like this bit:

Experts also said it led to a steep decline in property sales and has cost the economy nearly £1 billion because of a reduction in the number of people selling homes and a flow-on reduction in demand for services such as removals or renovations.

So at least they admit that "the economy" relies on stuff done for the sake of doing stuff, rather than actually anything useful.

[Wayward]

distort the market...outrageous !  Because of course the housing market operates fine otherwise.  You couldn't make this up.

Hopefully the government will dismiss this nonsense, The greedy and evil old dogs that the Bltergraph speak for are on the back foot.

[Dyson Fury]

Another disastrously misjudged campaign by the Telegraph, which will lose it still more readers.

Quote

The Exchequer received £370 million less in stamp duty than the £700 million it expected following major changes made by George Osborne, new analysis shows.

So the new measure actually raised £330 million extra revenue, as reported in the same paper just a few days ago.  If they think there is any mileage in campaigning for tax cuts for people who are buying houses priced at over £1 million, they must be mad.  Or maybe this editorial line reflects the special interests of the paper's owners?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31517392

The only saving grace is that the article doesn't mention the 3% stamp duty surcharge for 2nd home buyers and BTLers.  Maybe they've given up on flogging that dead horse.

[Venger]

EA views in comments.

https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/11/national-newspaper-launches-campaign-to-cut-stamp-duty

 

Quote

If stamp duty remains as it is it will permanently damage the market,not just at the top end. To function healthily a market needs to flow freely from top to bottom and from bottom to top. By placing such a strong restriction at the top end you interfere with that free flow creating inevitable and unwelcome distortions. Let's hope Mr Hammond reads The Telegraph!

Aww.

Quote

Sellers in the £1m+, 2nd home market - "3% reduction? don't be silly... I have a record low mortgage and absolutley no pressure to sell. Why would I sell at a reduced level and my dear boy, what on earth would I do with money anyway?" 

Let your neighbours sell at lower prices then, and ride it down.  It's fine to treat home as a home and disregard the value.  Just don't complain in the future that it was once worth £1m, when neighbour downsizes and has big pot of money to live on, before values plunged further.

[MonkeyPuzzle]

One in four buy-to-let investors sell up due to new tax (14 November 2016)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/investing/buy-to-let/one-in-four-buy-to-let-investors-sell-up-due-to-new-tax/

"A survey of almost 1,000 experienced private landlords found that 25pc have already sold, or  are planning to sell, following the Government's plans to remove their ability to deduct their mortgage interest costs from their rental income before calculating their tax bill."

Squeezed profits, many falling into loss (and that's not even figuring for plummeting property values).  Cry me a river.

And then of course:

"The study, by the Residential Landlords' Association, follows a previous survey which found that 56pc of landlords will increase rents to cope with the tax changes." 

They can increase rents all they like, but no tenant will sign up to that. Rents are falling like so many teardrops here in SW London.

[eek]

1 hour ago, Venger said:

EA views in comments.

https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/11/national-newspaper-launches-campaign-to-cut-stamp-duty

 

Aww.

Let your neighbours sell at lower prices then, and ride it down.  It's fine to treat home as a home and disregard the value.  Just don't complain in the future that it was once worth £1m, when neighbour downsizes and has big pot of money to live on, before values plunged further.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Most people don't have any rush to sell (including round my way inherited properties as it requires something very special to hit the inheritance limits).

Interestingly this thread shows why we have different viewpoints. I'm looking at why would I pay that to buy that, you are focused on why would you sell it....

[South Lorne]

6 hours ago, bubbleturbo said:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/14/stamp-duty-reforms-are-damaging-property-market-and-cutting-tax/

What a crock of utter shite. Why do the Telegraph persist with such ridiculous campaigns?

There are so many things that need to be looked at in this country right now, do these idiots really think people finding it a bit harder to buy £1M + homes is worth campaigning for?

Maybe they should employ some journalists who have enough brain power to compute the root cause of this problem - rampant HPI due to lax lending and idiots like Carnage slashing interest rates forever is the root cause of many problems we face in this country now.

..the owners of the Telegraph have declared and well known interests in property......

[John The Pessimist]

5 hours ago, hotairmail said:

Define 'damage'.

Make changes that are contrary to one's interests.

[Kiwi Toast]

9 hours ago, Riedquat said:

I like this bit:

 

 

So at least they admit that "the economy" relies on stuff done for the sake of doing stuff, rather than actually anything useful.

We can be propserous if we break enough windows!