The UK total fell by 11 per cent in the first half of 2015 compared with the same time last year, says Lloyds Bank.
LonRes research for the Financial Times found the number of London homes sold for between £1 million and £2 million fell 22.5 per cent from July to September, against the same time in 2014.
Adam Challis, head of residential research at real estate firm JLL, said the slump was greater than anticipated, given the Conservatives’ majority in May which was expected to boost confidence in the housing market.
“The Conservative government has been quite clear in their focus, supporting starter homes and home ownership,” he said, adding the result also ended the threat of a “mansion tax”.
The national slowdown has been attributed to stamp duty reforms in the Government’s Autumn Statement last year. While George Osborne’s changes meant lower bills for most homebuyers, the top end has been hit with higher costs. It is now more expensive to buy any home worth more than £937,500; a £1.5 million house costs an extra £18,750 in stamp duty.
Many buyers have been able to negotiate down the price in line with the rise in stamp duty, says LonRes.
“Estate agents are trying to encourage sellers to be a bit more circumspect,” said Mr Challis. “For the first half of this year that’s been quite difficult; there has been a mismatch between seller and buyer expectations.”
The gap is narrowing, as sellers begin “to get more realistic”, he added. "
Source: Stamp duty hikes trigger high-end property market slowdown - Telegraph
12% tax to buy a house FFS! It's worse than VAT as at least on secondary sales it's not taken yet in this case he coins it in every transaction - a TAX ON TRANSACTIONS that is
