Category Archives: Overseas Property

Asking prices for homes in England and Wales are on average 1.5 per cent lower this month than a year ago, with the available stock at its lowest for 18 months, property website Rightmove said yesterday.

The average asking price rose 0.6 per cent in September to £223,996 (S$513,557), after a 2.2 per cent fall in August, as the lack of supply put upward pressure on the market.

Rightmove said 10 properties were coming off the market for every eight coming on, with would-be sellers deterred from trading up by dwindling property choice and high deposit requirements.

‘Confidence is up, stock is down, and the number of people searching is high,’ said Rightmove director Miles Shipside.

‘There are lots of positives but too few buyers can put down the 40 per cent deposits that are needed in order to secure the best mortgage deals.’ London was one of three regions which saw a month-on-month rise in house prices in August, although they remain 0.9 per cent down on the year at £390,768. Rightmove said evidence suggested activity in the property market was over dependent on those with substantial equity, and warned that lenders cherry-picking these buyers risked prolonging a thin market. ‘Many aspiring sellers could face years trapped in their homes until values rise enough for them to join the equity-rich club,’ Mr Shipside added.

Source : Business Times – 22 Sep 2009

The starting point is to aim for fairer, not higher taxes, says spokesman

Liberal Democrat lawmaker Vince Cable outlined plans for a tax on homes worth more than £1 million (S$2.3 million) and a tightening of rules on capital gains tax.

The property tax, which would charge 0.5 per cent a year on the value of a property above the £1 million threshold, would provide funds to lift four million of the lowest paid people out of income tax, Mr Cable, economic spokesman for the third-largest UK party, told British Broadcasting Corp television.

‘The Liberal Democrat’s starting point is to aim for fairer, not higher taxes,’ he said.

‘As chancellor my priority would be to cut income tax for those on low and middle incomes.’ Property is used in the UK to raise money for local governments, with the highest council-tax levy charged on homes valued at more than £320,000 in 1991. It is unfair that people owning family homes in the top band pay the same as those in houses worth up to £50 million, Mr Cable told the BBC. His proposal would result in a tax of £2,500 on 1.5 million homes and £15,000 on homes costing £4 million. Continue reading →