In the Press … PrimeResi

We were delighted to share our thoughts ahead of the Autumn Budget with the leading luxury property journal, PrimeResi.

Top of the Property Acquisitions wish list is a plea for the government to stop raiding the pockets of homebuyers through stamp duty – a prohibitive tax that restricts movement and suffocates the housing market – and consider reducing or scrapping it altogether for downsizers.

Founder and Director Jennie Hancock says: “I remember when stamp duty was 1% and it was something people paid without much thought, in the same way as they paid their estate agent or solicitor. Now, it discourages activity at all levels of the market, especially at the top where people who would like to downsize just can’t come to terms with handing potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds to the tax man.

“They would rather resign themselves to staying in their home and spend that money on employing a gardener or a housekeeper instead, when if they had moved it would have set in motion an entire chain of transactions at all levels of the market.

“Stamp duty is such a prohibitive tax, and that was clear for everyone to see during covid when the market was freed from its constraints. Scrapping or reducing stamp duty for downsizers would kick start the housing market by removing the enormous disincentive to move at the top.”