Photographer: Jason Alden / Bloomberg
Photographer: Jason Alden / Bloomberg
UK house prices fell in January, as sellers tried to speed up discounted transactions before the end of a temporary reduction in a heavy home purchase tax – although many businesses will miss the deadline anyway. a deal with Rightmove.
The average asking price fell 0.9% in the month, apparently to try last-minute sales, said the UK’s largest property website. However, of the 613,000 deals already underway, around 100,000 are expected to be closed after the March 31 cut, meaning that they will face tax bills up to £ 15,000 ($ 20,000) higher than they would have.
While activity in the first weeks of January generally sets the tone for the rest of the year, Covid-related market closings and the stamp duty holiday to boost the stimulus are likely to distort the numbers in 2021.
Tim Bannister, director of real estate data at Rightmove, said the main difference between Britain’s first blockade last year and the one it is in now is that the housing market was open this time, so that “housing priorities have changed can be more readily satisfied “
As more people work remotely and teach their children at home, they are looking for homes with more space – indoor and outdoor – raising the market after the initial shock of the pandemic, despite the biggest economic downturn in three centuries. The number of sales agreed last year grew 10th in 2019.
Matthew Smith, director of sales and leasing at Thornley Groves, Manchester, said the desire to increase size for the suburbs was the main driver of sales.
“I don’t think that the high levels of activity we see today are due solely to tax exemptions,” he said. “It just gave people the impetus to be on the lookout for a move, which in turn generated more demand.”