Arabian Property Awards

UK Stamp Duty Holiday Deadline to Remain in Place

Despite calls by many including the Guild of property Professionals who have been lobbying the government to extend the deadline thus far no extension seems likely. Conveyancers, lenders and surveyors are struggling to cope with record volumes ince the lockdown, interest rate reductions and the stamp duty holiday announcement. This has led to extended conversion times for property transactions raising concerns about the ability to capitalize on the government stimulus. With limited time remaining the Guild is encouraging buyers to invest in new build units due to the much faster completion times that they offer.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sat, Dec 12th 2020

Arabian Property Awards

UK Mortgage Approvals Hit record High

The Bank of England lending figures released this week show that there were close to 100,000 mortgage approvals for the month of October, the highest level since 2007 which was the height of the previous property boom. These figures are generally relied on as a barometer for short term activity in the property market and the level of confidence buyers have in their ability to service their mortgages. With many lenders reporting longer turnaround times due to high volumes, these figures should be maintained over the next few months. Further underpinning this level of activity going forward is the positive news about Covid vaccines which will provide a boost to the UK economy.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sat, Dec 5th 2020

Arabian Property Awards

UK Property Buyers Rush to Beat Stamp Duty Deadline

As the 31 March 2021 deadline for the stamp duty holiday and the imposition of an additional 2% for foreign buyers approaches the number of transactions continues to rise dramatically. October recorded the highest number of transactions since March 2016 which itself was an exceptional month due to tax changes and industry stakeholders expect these to increase further. Due to this demand transaction times, especially mortgage approvals are taking longer and longer which could lead to buyers missing the above-mentioned deadline. Brokers expect a last-minute surge in January so buyers would be well advised to act now to ensure completion before the stamp duty holiday ends, thereby ensuring a 5% saving for foreign investors.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sat, Nov 28th 2020

Arabian Property Awards

Overseas Buyers Snapping Up Prime London Property

Despite the pandemic and Brexit concerns Knight Frank Private Office and other luxury real estate brokers are reporting increases in purchases of high-end properties by wealthy overseas buyers. Purchases of luxury London homes increased by 16% in the first eight months of 2020 to £1.1bn. Significantly brokers are reporting that buyers are prepared to by without physical viewings with one seeing 22% of sales to such buyers. There are many reasons for this demand including the traditional attractions of London, education and the fact that the other major financial hubs, Hong Kong and New York are seeing social unrest.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sat, Nov 21st 2020

Arabian Property Awards

Manchester and Birmingham To Lead Property Investment Growth

According to the latest research report by leading property firm JLL, the two UK powerhouse cities will see the highest growth in both capital values and rentals over the next five years. As we previously highlighted, more and more investors are turning to the stability of UK buy to let properties due to volatile equity markets and low interest rates. JLL forecast 19.5% capital growth for Birmingham by 2025 and 18.5% for Manchester outstripping the forecast national average of 14.5% which is still reasonable considering the after effects of the pandemic and Brexit uncertainty.

Posted by: Kelvin Tayfield, Sat, Nov 14th 2020