End of mansion tax threat lifts top tier of London’s property market
The higher end of the London housing market is seeing market volumes return following Labour’s defeat in the General Election, ending the threat of a proposed mansion tax on properties over £2m.
The number of properties over £2m listed on Getagent.co.uk, an estate agent comparison site, more-than doubled in the weeks after the national vote, according to figures released by the website today. In the week directly before the poll, 294 such properties were listed on the site, which has now climbed to 639.
Peter Rollings, chief executive of agents Marsh & Parsons told Morning Wire that “prime central London hasn’t picked up yet, but we’ve seen an immediate boost in outer-prime – south of the river, as well as some areas in west and north London.”
He added that while the market is recovering, it is still depressed by stamp duty changes that occurred in December, which increased the tax burden of home sales above £1m.
Nick Davies from agents Stirling Ackroyd told Morning Wire that there had been a sharp rise in interest for several penthouses for sale in Aldgate worth £2.5m each.
“For the first time in a while we’ve got serious interest, people talking about offering and more viewings. Before the election we had none of that,” Davies said.