Reported changes to stamp duty and the introduction of an annual property tax would disproportionately impact Londoners, analysis from estate agency eXp UK has found.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is understood to be considering replacing stamp duty with a new national property tax, which would be paid by homeowners on properties worth more than £500,000 when they sell their home.
According to a 48-page report from the thinktank Onward, which the Treasury is believed to be drawing on, the national property tax would be proportional, at a rate set by the government.
The report suggests an annual rate of 0.54 per cent to be paid on home values between £500,000 and £1 million, and a higher rate for homes valued at more than that. This would be payable annually after a sale, rather than upfront.
The report also proposes scrapping council tax in favour of a local property tax.
For now, though, no changes have been confirmed. The £500,000 figure was “vigorously denied” by government sources, according to an article in The Telegraph, while a source told The Times that the threshold would need to be far higher in order to be effective.
If Reeves does opt to shake up stamp duty, this is likely to be unveiled at the autumn budget on 26 November.
‘It’s a tax on London’
Nevertheless, critics say that these proposed changes would disproportionately affect homeowners in the capital, where the majority of homes are valued above £500,000.
The average London home now costs £561,590, according to the most recent figures from the Office of National Statistics, so the average tax payment would be £332.59 a year, if the rates in the Onward report are applied.
In London, 53.3 per cent of property sales in the last 12 months were valued at £500,000 or above, according to eXp UK’s analysis. This is the highest proportion of anywhere in England and Wales, where on average just 17.4 per cent of homes sold are above this threshold.
The South East and East of England would also feel the brunt of the new national property tax, with 27.3 per cent and 20.4 per cent of transactions above the £500,000 mark.
In fact, some estimates put the figure for London at even higher. Looking at current property listings on Rightmove rather than transaction figures, London-based estate agency Benham and Reeves found that 60 per cent of homes in the capital are listed above £500,000.
In Kensington and Chelsea, London’s most expensive borough, 93.1 per cent of all homes are above this threshold, followed by 91.1 per cent in Westminster and 89.5 per cent in the City of London.
In boroughs like Camden, Hammersmith and Fulham, Wandsworth, Islington and Hackney, the vast majority of homes are also listed at above £500,000.
“The proposal to shift stamp duty onto sellers via a property tax on homes above £500,000 may sound like a progressive move at a national level, but in reality it’s a tax on London, designed to win favour with the nation’s homebuyers at the expense of the capital’s home sellers,” said Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves.
“In the capital, £500,000 does not buy a luxury home; in many areas it’s simply the baseline for an average property. By targeting this price bracket, the Treasury risks penalising ordinary London homeowners, while leaving much of the rest of the country largely untouched.
“If the government truly wants to create a fairer system, it must consider the significant regional variations in property values. Otherwise, this reform will not rebalance the housing market, it will simply add another barrier to selling in London at a time when transaction levels remain subdued.”
A London slowdown?
Commentators have also been quick to point out that the knock-on effect of a high national property tax for Londoners could drastically slow down the property market. Earlier this month, for example, TV presenter and Move iQ founder Phil Spencer said the reforms could prove “catastrophic” for Londoners.
Research from Churchill Home Insurance reveals that homeowners around the country are already increasingly investing in home renovations, choosing to improve rather than move.
For Londoners, where the stress associated with moving is currently the biggest deterrent to moving, according to Churchill, this is likely to become even more pronounced.
“The fundamental problem with a tax on sellers of high-value property is that the Treasury would be relying on the most discretionary part of the property market for a steady flow of revenue, said Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank.
“As for the knock-on economic benefits of moving house, the proposal would slow down the market to a greater extent in London, the economic epicentre of the country. A sellers’ tax therefore feels like a flawed idea. However, re-banding council tax feels overdue — rates are still based on 1991 property valuations.
“The other problem is that none of the above would dig the government out of its financial hole in the short-term, which is why the debate is happening in the first place. The government may have stumbled across some good ideas, but they don’t address the problem they are trying to fix.
“Note to buyers hoping for stamp duty to be scrapped any time soon: you will probably be disappointed.”
