Cut stamp duty to boost London housing market, says estate agent

Haart calls on May to intervene

Estate agents Haart have urged the government to cut stamp duty in order to provide a boost for house buyers and get the property market moving.

Haart’s property index for this month show landlords are starting to return to the market despite the extra three per cent hike in Stamp Duty imposed by George Osborne.

This is a positive that needs to be encouraged, especially considering the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors suggests 1.8m more households will be looking to rent by 2025 and yet 85 per cent of landlords have no plans to increase their portfolios.

Paul Smith, CEO of haart estate agents, said: “Although we are seeing more positive consumer confidence materialising post-Brexit, the UK’s housing market is still marked by a number of negatives, as prices and transactions continue to fall on the month. We are however starting to see some improvements, in the form of the number of new buyers that are entering the market, and the number of viewings that are taking place.

“Action needs to be taken to reverse the sluggish pace of activity, to turn these initial engagements with the property market into transactions. A greater injection of confidence and stability is also important for housebuilders, in order to reassure them they will get good margins on the potential sale price of new homes if they start building again, particularly crucial in order to reach the ambitious housebuilding targets that Sajid Javid has set.

“Surely it is time the new Government overturns the negative SDLT hikes both aimed at buy-to-let investors and at the top end of the scale. Measures need eased in order to increase fluidity within the market as these charges are without doubt causing a log-jam – no wonder when buyers have to fork out and extra 3% on top of the 7% they are already paying.”