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It’s nearly 2016: 3 things you need to know about buying property in the UK

3 things you should know about buying property before 2016

Stamp duty changes for buy-to-let purchases.

From April 2016 the government have announced that there will be an additional 3% surcharge on property purchases of second homes and buy-to let properties.

In monetary terms, for a purchase at £500,000, the stamp duty tax will now be £30,000 rather than £15,000 for owner occupiers.

This is being seen by many as a “second attack” on landlords after the reduction of tax relief on mortgage interest payments.

This new tax should make more property available for first time buyers and owner occupiers but with the Euro weak against the Pound, it could also encourage investors to take some money out of the UK property market to look for opportunities overseas.

If you are looking for a buy-to-let property, make sure you get in touch soon so we at Astute Property can ensure your purchase is completed before the April deadline.

Will there be more properties on the market?

A new year often brings fresh activity to the market. Agents have reportedly undertaken numerous valuations ready for listing in 2016 which tells us that people are getting ready to sell their properties.

This is good news for market buoyancy and for buyers. However, unless there is a vast increase in available properties, the imbalance caused by low stock means we will continue to see a steady increase in prices.

Where is the best investment in London in 2016?

More suburban boroughs of London have seen higher increases in prices (Enfield 12.8%, year to Oct 15) than the central locations (Westminster 0.4%).

Therefore property growth should be healthy and constant in the suburbs. Even so, if you are looking for an investment, my tip would be to look for buying opportunities centrally before the buy to let stamp duty increase in April 2016.

The below table illustrates how price increases have been more significant in the outer London suburbs compared to Central London.

Where is the best investment in London in 2016?

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